Hate You Love You
by Charlion EM
Summary: Sam and Peter are college roommates and neither knows the other is a super hero. Spider-Man and Nova hate each other. But Peter and Sam? They're about to make their lives very complicated.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is the 'clean' version. There is still mentions of adult themes and some swearing, but the smut has been removed. You can read the smut version on AO3.

Sam and Peter are college roommates and neither knows the other is a super hero. Spider-Man and Nova hate each Peter and Sam? They're about to make their lives very complicated.

* * *

Sam threw his plate into the sink. He stormed out of the kitchen and snatched the remote out of his roommate's hand. "You know I hate this crap."

Peter grabbed for the remote, "I was up first, I get dibs on the tv!"

Sam rolled his eyes, and switched to the cooking channel. "Yea, up at the crack noon."

"Right, like you're any better!" Peter snatched the remote back and changed the tv to the news again. Sam was grateful it was on commercial.

"Some of us have jobs, you know. I didn't get home until 2am." He left out the part where he was a superhero and had spent two hours after his shift cleaning up the mess Spider-Man had left. Seriously, who only takes out the big baddie and lets the goons run free?

Sam wrestled with Peter for the remote. Peter used his longer reach to hold the remote behind the couch. With a growl, Sam lurched into Peter's lap, clawing for the remote. He didn't register the position he had put them in; the only focus was on the remote.

The commercials cut out and the news program came back on. "Spider-Man to the rescue again!" MJ's voice drifted into the living room. She finally was given an on-air segment once a week, and had turned it into mostly Spider-Man propaganda.

Sam groaned and put more fight into his quest for the remote. He did not want to hear anymore about the hero. It was just out of his reach, and he was about to climb over Peter to grab at it when suddenly he was on his back. Peter smirked down at him. He had moved so quickly Sam didn't have time to roll away.

Peter kept him pinned to the couch. "You know, MJ would be hurt if I told her you didn't want to watch her segment."

Sam stuck out his tongue. "Tell her I'll watch it if she gets better material." It was a lie, he hated the news no matter the subject or who was reporting it. "What do you care anyway, didn't you two break up, like, months ago?"

Peter pushed him harder into the couch, "What, don't you like Spider-Man? And we are still friends!"

Sam scoffed, "The angry guy that spits at the screen had it right, he's a menace. I don't know why MJ sticks up for the guy, he's one of the worst heroes in the city."

Peter rolled his eyes.

"So, are you going to get off of me today? I have class in like 15."

Peter hesitated then smirked. "Only if you admit you'd totally *do him if you had the chance."

Sam pretended to gag, "Dude, no. Way gross. I'd rather take my chance with Black Widow or Squirrel Girl."

Peter frowned, "Sorry, I thought -"

Sam smirked, "Besides, I'm not the one with the man-crush on the Insect-Man." Sam knew better; Peter was straight, he had been with several girls in the last month alone. He knew, because he had been not so politely asked to stay out of their one bedroom apartment several times.

"Arachnid."

"What-ever." Sam tried to push Peter off, but the other man didn't budge. He was stronger than he looked.

"Sam?"

"Yea?" He blinked up at his friend and roommate.

He didn't get an answer. Peter slowly lowered his head towards Sam's. The seconds ticked past and Sam laid there, frozen. What was Peter...?

The moment was interrupted by Sam's cell phone alarm. Peter jolted back and stared at Sam.

"Uh, I gotta get going." He silenced his phone and grabbed his books. He didn't spare a look at Peter as he waved, then he was out the door.

Sam cursed when the door closed behind him. "Stupid phone, stupid class." He was thankful he remembered to set an alarm to prevent him from being late. If it hadn't gone off...Had Peter been about to kiss him? He shook his head, there was no way that was what had been about to happen. But, maybe?

He skidded into class a minute before 1pm and took his normal seat in the back corner. He willed himself to concentrate on the lecture, but his mind kept shifting back to Peter.

He and Peter were different majors, but they met during their freshmen year general courses. Peter knew Sam was bi. In the three years they had known each other in college, Sam had dated a girl and a guy, both of which crashed and burned. He hadn't been seeing anyone recently; college, his job, and being Nova meant he didn't have much time to go meet anyone.

He had to sneak around the campus dorms for two years so no one caught onto his alias. So, at the start of their junior year, he lept at the opportunity to get an apartment with his friend. It was basically on campus, right across from the regular dorms. They had opposite class schedules, so it was a great arrangement. Until Peter broke up with MJ a few months prior, he would only be in the apartment to shower and grab clean clothes. It made sneaking out as Nova easy.

But, recently Peter had been having girls over once, twice, sometimes three times a week. So, no. Sam didn't think Peter had been about to kiss him. The math didn't add up.

People getting up from their chairs alerted him of the class ending. He looked down at his notebook, the only thing there was a doodle of him as Nova sucker punching Spider-Man. He could dream. He sighed, he would have to get the notes from a classmate.

That was his only class for the day so he decided to go on patrol to blow off some steam. He swung by his apartment to grab his helmet and was thankful Peter wasn't there. He didn't have class, but he spent most of his free time in one of the labs.

Sam loved the rush that came from flying. Being above everything, ignoring the pull of gravity, it was freedom. Some days he would fly for hours, around the city, around the country, and up to space if he had the time.

The wind rushed past and he let his mind wander back to Peter. He had long since labeled his nerdy friend as off limits. Peter was straight, he was smart, he was just way out of his league. But Sam was still sure that had been a kiss lean in that afternoon.

He was hit with a thought. What if Peter wanted to experiment? He wouldn't be the first straight guy to, his last boyfriend hadn't been sure of his sexuality. They dated a few weeks, Sam doing his best to ease his boyfriend into dating another guy. But when things started getting hot and heavy the relationship started to fall apart. Sam knew going in that it might not last, and he always gave his boyfriend an out; if he changed his mind, and realized he wasn't into guys as much as he thought, he could walk at anytime. But after their first night together, Sam fell hard.

Everything seemed fine, but a few days later he had been dumped. Because, although he admitted he was bi, Jared had decided he would prefer a female partner. Turned out he liked to give, but not take.

Sam blasted a few bottles sitting on a building ledge. It still hurt to think about. He had put a lot of effort into it...and in the end it hadn't mattered. Peter knew that whole story, so Sam hoped he wouldn't ask.

An explosion a few blocks away shook him from his thoughts. He flew over to investigate. Sam took a quick inventory of the situation. Trapster was running around the corner, bags in hand. There didn't appear to be any civilians injured or in danger and he shot off after the villain.

Trapster was usually an easy catch. His weapons malfunctioned more often than not, and he wasn't the type to plan out his heists.

Sam caught up to him quickly. He was about to intercept him when a red and blue blur crossed his path. He collided with it, and they both fell to the ground.

He landed on the offender. Of course it was Spiderman, who else in New York didn't look both ways before web slinging across the road?

The man below him groaned. "Get the fuck off me dumbass. Trapster is getting away!"

Sam hovered himself up and scanned the road for Trapster. "You're the one that cut me off web freak. I had him!"

A finger was thrust in his face. "You crashed into me, newbie. For the last time, stay out of my way."

Sam resisted the urge to bite the gloved finger in his face. He could exchange insults later, the Trapster needed to be apprehended.

"Fuck you." He flew in the direction Trapster had been heading.

He felt Spider-Man sling next to him. Sam did give him points for being able to keep up when he couldn't fly.

"You'd never be so lucky, Bucket Head." With a laugh the other hero shot webbing at a corner building and turned down a side street.

"Son of a-" Sam did a mid air u-turn and headed after Spider-Man.

It only took him a few seconds to catch up, but Trapster was already tied up with a triumphant Spider-Man posing for photos. Show off.

He hovered back until Spider-Man web slinged away from the crowd. On the top of a nearby building he flew in front of the other hero.

"He was mine!" Sam glared, but he knew spiderman couldn't see it through his helmet.

Spider-Man chucked. "Yea, no. I had a tracker on him way before you got on the scene." He sauntered up to Nova. "But, if you're still down to fuck..."

Sam made a retching sound. That was twice in the same day he had been ask to sleep with his nemesis. He hovered a bit higher, making himself taller than the other hero. "You're vile."

Spider-Man grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and yanked him down. Sam let out a yelp at the force.

"Stay. Out. Of. My. City." He was thrown down to the roof and landed on his back. "Or I'll force you out." Spider-Man was straddling him, pinning him to the roof.

Sam couldn't stop the slight shudder that went through him and hoped it went unnoticed. They often threw insults at each other, but Spider-Man had never flat out threatened him before.

Sam shot out of Spider-Man's grip and hovered over him. "I'll do what I want, Bug Boy." He flipped him off and flew away. "Fucking hate that guy."

He flew a few laps around some of the more high crime areas, but nothing seemed to be afoot. Sam decided to call it a day and flew to the small park near his gym and stuffed his helmet into his drawstring bag. After patrol he always stopped there. If patrol hadn't been too exciting he would work out for a bit. But on days when he had a villain fight, or a Spider-Man run in, he would often just hit the showers at the gym then head home. It kept Peter from asking too many questions at least.

After a quick shower he returned to his apartment. The shower was on, so he assumed Peter had returned at some point. He entered their shared bedroom and hid his bag in his usual spot. All he wanted was a nap. A nice, warm, nap, with no intruding thoughts about Peter's behavior that morning or the lingering threat from Spider-Man

He took off his shirt and threw it on the floor. He kneeled down to climb onto his bed which was just a mattress on the floor. Sam pulled back his blanket and yelped. Between his pillows was a Spider-Man plushie. He blinked at it then grabbed it from his bed. He ripped the stitching from around the head of the doll and started pulling the fluffing out.

Sam stomped out of the bedroom and pounded on the bathroom door. He knew it was Peter, and he was not amused. The last thing he wanted to see anywhere near his bed was Spider-Man's face.

He heard a muffled, "Yea?" from inside.

Sam stared at the door and hoped Peter was in there alone. He tested the nob and found that it wasn't locked. He forced the door open and threw the plushie's body over the top of the shower.

"What? Ah! Sam!"

"Peter, that was NOT funny!" He tossed the plushie's head over and stormed back out.

He settled into his bed, done with the day.

Peter ran into the bedroom, not bothering to dry off. He had just a towel over his waist. And damn, who knew he was hiding that body under those baggy clothes? He had a few scars dotted across his torso, and Sam wondered where a nerd like Peter Parker would acquire injuries like that. Maybe a car accident?

Peter paused half way across the room. "Sorry, it was a joke…"

Sam shook his head and stared at his friend, Spider-Man toys forgotten.

Peter smirked, "What? Like what you see?"

Sam snapped out of his daze. "Dude...don't even joke."

Peter hesitated. "Hold on…" He grabbed some pants from his pile and left the room. He returned quickly with the pants on and the towel gone. Sam missed the towel.

"So…" Peter sat on the floor next to Sam's bed. "Uh...I'm sorry about this morning...I didn't mean to weird you out or anything" He picked at the carpet as he spoke.

Sam knew Peter mean the almost, maybe, kiss. But he decided to play with his friend a bit, and prolong talking about it. "Well, we can always write up a TV time chart."

Peter shook his head. "Sam, that's not what I-"

"Don't." Sam looked away.

"Sam…"

A warm hand was placed on his knee and Sam looked up. "Pete...please...I…"

Peter leaned forward. Sam could feel his warm breath ghost over his lips. "Sam? Can I kiss you?" And that was so Peter, always respecting people's boundaries.

Sam closed his eyes and closed the small distance. Peter's lips were soft against his chapped ones. Peter was hesitant and that was all Sam needed to pull away. He couldn't be someone's experiment again.

He stood up and grabbed his shirt.

"Sam, wait!"

Sam shook his head.

"Sam, I like you...I…"

"I can't." And he left.

He wandered around campus with no destination in mind. Across the quad, around groups of other students, he ignored them all. He couldn't believe he kissed Peter. And, oh, how was he going to face him? He had to go home at some point.

"Sam! Hey, Sam!"

Sam looked up to find MJ waving him over to where she was sitting on the grass.

"Uh...hey MJ." Talking to Peter's ex girlfriend. Right, just what he needed. But, they were friends- the three of them. He couldn't just ignore her.

She crossed her arms. "Peter was looking for you. He said you left your phone?"

He took a seat next to her and patted his pockets. "Yea...I must have forgotten it."

"What happened? He said you ran out?" She was scrutinizing him, giving him the journalist eye. Since she had started working at the Bugle during her senior term she had become unstoppable.

"Uh…" Sam sighed. "I- we- just made it awkward."

"What do you mean?"

"We kissed." Sam held up a hand when she went to talk. "Don't start. I'm sorry, okay. It just happened. He asked if he could kiss me, and he was so close, and I kissed him...but I can't be someone's experiment again. I can't go through that again."

MJ smiled- SMILED- at the man who had just kissed her ex. Sam was pretty sure he had just crossed an ethics line with that one. But she was smiling at him.

"Did Peter ever tell you why we broke up?"

"No."

"It was because he had feelings for someone else. We had been drifting apart for a while, and we've been friends forever. So, when we started dating we promised to be friends first, and last. So, when he came to me and said he liked someone else, I let him end our relationship. It hurt, I won't lie, but it wouldn't have been fair to either one of us to keep dating."

Sam eye her, "He hasn't been dating anyone…?"

MJ gave him the special look she used when he was being particularly obtuse. "He was confused...because he liked another guy. And it was the first time he ever had. It scared him, I think...but he was honest with me, and himself. Last we spoke, he still had those feelings but he hadn't acted on them." She stared at Sam, waiting for a reaction. When he continued to stare at her she added, "Until today, it seems."

Oh. OH! Peter like him. Wasn't that what he had said before Sam left? "But, I don't-"

"Sam. He's waited a few months, I think he's sure. You're not just an experiment to him." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Now, go home."

Sam ran home as quick as he could. Because Peter Parker liked him. The nerdy, handsome, Peter Parker like him.

He burst into their apartment and found Peter sitting on the couch.

"Sam. Sam, I'm sorry, I didn't think, I-" But Peter was cut off by Sam's lips covering his.

Sam wrapped his arms around Peter's waist and pulled him close. At first, Peter was hesitant, but soon he matching Sam's enthusiasm. After a few moments, Sam pulled away, letting his hands linger on Peter's hips.

"Sam." Peter whispered breathlessly.

"Peter." Sam leaned up to give him a quick peck on the lips before stepping back.

"We need to talk this through...I can't…"

"Sam, I like you." Peter sat back on the couch and patted the cushion next to him.

Sam too the invitation and fell onto the couch next to Peter. "Yea, MJ said..."

Peter jumped. "MJ? What did she tell you?" His blush deepened.

Sam laughed, "Only that you've liked me for a while." He paused. "Hasn't it been awkward? Living together?"

Peter rubbed his neck, "Yea, a little."

Sam wondered if that was the reason for his string of one night stands. Had Peter been trying to convince himself he wasn't gay (or bi)? "Well, you're pretty cute." Understatement much?

"So, what now?"

Sam cursed Peter for being so adorable. "How about we cuddle on the couch and watch Star Wars?"

Peter grinned. "I can do that."

Sam knew they had both seen the movies a millions times- and that was just since moving into the apartment. It was something familiar, sitting on the couch and watching their favorite movies. This time, however, they didn't sit on opposite sides of the couch.

Sam leaned on his taller...Friend? Roommate? Boyfriend? Peter.

They could worry about labels later.

For the rest of the evening they watched the movies, chatting away like they always did. But the subjects turned more personal, more exploring. And Sam found, for once, he didn't mind sharing.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Yay, all done finally! woo!

Thank you again to everyone who is reading ^_^

* * *

Waking up somewhere other than his bed was disorienting enough, but having an arm firmly wrapped around his hip took his sleep-fogged mind more time to process than Sam would ever admit to. The events of the previous evening bubbled into his mind as Sam blinked open his eyes. His head was tucked under Peter's chin, and he could feel the rise and fall of Peter's chest under him. He had not felt so content in a long time. He wondered if it would last.

Would Peter change his mind? If not, how did they act around each other? Sam had never dated a roommate before- heck, he had never lived with his significant other before. Did they push their beds together? Or go on dates? And OMG- he kissed Peter. His friend Peter. Whom he had never thought about _romantically_ before. Physically yes, because _damn_ , but he never had romantic feelings for him. What if he never did- was their relationship/friendship/ _whatever_ doomed because of Sam?

Below him, Peter adjusted slightly. "I can almost _hear_ you freaking out." He gave Sam's hip a squeeze. "Having second thoughts?"

Sam hesitated for a moment before propping himself up on his elbows. "Just...not sure where we go from here."

Peter shimmied up into a half sitting position, leaving their legs intertwined. "Well, I think from here we should take a shower and get some breakfast."

Sam stretched. His muscles were stiff, yet, he couldn't help think it was totally worth it to wake up with Peter's arms around him. He smiled, maybe it would be easier than he thought.

Peter was the first to pull himself off the couch and he set about pouring a bowl of cereal. Sam watched him as he moved, wondering how he never noticed how gracefully Peter moved.

"Hey, my camera is in the corner. If you take a picture it will last longer." Peter threw a smirk over his shoulder.

Sam stood up from the couch as well. "Well, you can't exactly _touch_ a picture."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Pretty sure you _can_ touch a photo, at least if you print it out."

Sam reached out and pinched Peter's ass. "Not what I meant."

Peter opened his mouth to probably make some stupid pun, but Sam's phone alarm cut him off. Sam pulled out his phone.

"Shit, I didn't realize what time it is. I have to be at work in 30. I'm going to take a quick shower." He looked over his shoulder. "Want to join me?"

Peter gaped at him. "W-what?"

Sam grinned at him. "Taking it slow, got it."

In that moment, Sam vowed Peter Parker was the most adorable, dorky, person he was ever going to meet. He closed the distance between them to give Peter what was supposed to be a quick peck on the lips. The quick peck quickly turned into a long, exploring kiss- and, yea, Sam could definitely get used to this. He gave Peter's bottom lip a light nibble before pulling away.

Peter blinked at him with a dazed expression. "I have a time limit here, Parker." Sam smirked and retreated into the bathroom.

While under the spray, he heard the bathroom door open. "Hey Sam?"

"Yea?" He poked his head out from the curtain. "Change your mind about joining me?"

Peter swayed on the heels of his feet. "So…" He was looking everywhere but at Sam. "I only have classes 'till 4 today. Do you want to grab dinner with me?"

Sam snorted at how ridiculous they were being. "Dinner would be nice." It would be. Maybe they could sort out the mess they go themselves into while they were at it.

He toweled off and dressed in what was probably record time for him. Peter took a shower while Sam got ready for work.

Sam was tugging on his shoes when Peter exited the shower. "Is the towel only thing gonna, ya know, be a thing?"

Peter smirked. "Only if you want it to be."

Sam groaned. He didn't have time for Peter and his awesome body. He leaned up on the balls of his feet to give Peter a kiss. "I'll see you after your classes."

Peter pouted when Sam pulled back, but let him go. "Have a good day at work babe."

Sam snorted. "Babe? Hell no. You'll have to do better than that." And he was out the door before Peter could respond. It was good to know they would still be able to tease each other, that their friendship wasn't going to end; it was going to grow.

The warm, fuzzy, feeling stayed with him throughout his morning shift. He made it to the cafe in record time. Generally, the job was easy -boring even. Back home in Arizona he worked at the cafe during high school to help his mom pay the bills. He was used to juggling work, school, and being Nova. But, adding a relationship to the mix always threw him off balance. Tonight would be a perfect example. He was supposed to go out on patrol, but he was going to spend it with Peter. There were plenty of other heroes in New York, he reasoned. They could stand to have a turn. But the thought of Spider-Man getting any glory was almost enough for him to cancel on Peter. He didn't need to see the damn insect's face all over the news again.

Three hours into his shift the breakfast rush was over and Sam was able to take a break. The cafe was located on campus and the rushes always coincided with class times. He pulled out his phone to find several texts from Peter.

Peter: Heyy hows work?

Peter: So, we're cool right?

Peter: Because I do like you, like beyond just the snuggling and making out

Peter: And I don't want to blow it

Peter: Okay, I'm heading to my first class

The texts were spaced out since Sam left that morning, with the most recent being only a few minutes old. He was torn between rolling his eyes and a dopey smile at Peter's insecurity.

Sam: Dude, chill. Relax and go to class. I'll see you for dinner.

He was about to hit send, but added a heart emoji first. Hopefully that would calm Peter's nerves a bit.

Sam leaned back in the chair. His muscles were still stiff from sleeping on the couch. The shower helped, but finally resting reminded him of how much they ached. With a yawn, Sam stretched. Everything happened so fast the previous night. He hadn't had time to sort out how he felt, and he owed it to Peter to be honest with him. At least about his feelings. Because, he couldn't tell him about his superheroing, not yet anyway. And probably not ever. That was a danger he wouldn't, couldn't, put on his friend. Boyfriend. Whatever.

He threw his head back against the wall. Dating Peter, his friend and roommate, was going to make going out on patrol even harder. He'd only be able to go out when Peter had classes...unless he invented a fake work schedule. But what if Peter came looking for him at work?

His thoughts kept spiraling. All of the bad things which would come from dating where only compounded by the fact that they lived together. Maybe he could just be upfront about his need for 'personal time and space'. Peter would understand, right?

A quick glance at the clock told him his break was about over. He trudged back to the front, passing through the kitchen on his way. He was about to push through the doors to the dining area when the loud sound of glass breaking filled the cafe.

Sam slowly opened the door to peek out, finding Killer Croc prone in the middle of the dining room. The few customers still there were thankfully on the other side of the cafe. The reason for Croc's position on the floor presented itself in the form of Spider-Man swinging through the broken window. Of all the days he forgot his bag with his helmet…

While Killer Croc was distracted by the bug man, Sam motioned for the customer's to crawl in his direction. The kitchen staff and the other servers already retreated through the back exit. Sam kept an eye on the fight as he helped the customers through the kitchen door.

Spider-Man was thrown in their direction, and if the civilians were not in Croc's path, Sam would have cheered at the scene. Not that he wished the bug would get, like, permanent damage, but seeing him get his ass kicked was strangely therapeutic.

One customer was left. She was trapped between Sam and the fight, and she looked petrified. He didn't want to draw attention to them by shouting at her to move, so Sam ran over to her. He pried her to her feet, the debris would not allow them to crawl anymore.

Behind him he heard Croc rawr. He had fought the villain before, but he knew he didn't stand a chance without his helmet. He was a sitting duck. "Go!" He pushed the customer in the direction of the door and ran after her. She made it through the door. Before he could push through as well, something hit his side, sending him sprawling onto his stomach

Sam used his arms to prop himself up, only to find his legs were stuck under a table. "Well, at least I know what fucking hit me." He tried to pull his legs out, but from his position he couldn't get enough leverage. Great. Stuck on the floor while Croc was messing up his source of income.

He couldn't see the fighting, but from the sounds he heard the bug was winning. A loud thwamp rang through the building, which he took for Croc hitting the ground again. He didn't hear anything for a moment, then sirens started in the background.

"Shit." That must have been the bug.

He could relate. The police were not exactly the biggest fans of the masked heros. Avoiding them was, like, priority level Alpha. But shit. He didn't want to be stuck here and found by the cops. How embarrassing. Then the questions...and no thanks. But, his only other option was about to leave. Which embarrassment would he pick? Well, the bug didn't know who he was- just another civilian in the crowd.

Sam was saved from making a decision. He felt the table lifted off his legs and he quickly turned around. Face to face with his fellow hero. Nemesis. Rival. Whatever.

A red gloved hand was extended in his direction. Sam considered not taking it, but what reason would a normal civilian have for refusing help? He grudgingly accepted the offered hand and was hoisted to his feet. When he put weight on his left leg, hot searing pain shot through his body. On reflex, Sam staggered forward. Right into Spider-Man, who caught him against his chest. Sam grimaced as strong arms gripped him. Gross, just gross, why couldn't he keep his hands to himself?

"Are you okay?" And shit, that was actual concern in the other hero's voice. Sam was seeing the Spider-Man everyone else saw: the caring, helping, hero. He almost believed it for more than a second before remembering what a complete ass this man was.

"I'm fine. Just twisted my ankle 's all." Sam forced himself to pull away from the masked hero. Gingerly, he put his weight on the leg. Definitely more than a twisted ankle.

"I saw what you did for those people. Quick thinking. You saved their lives." A gloved hand was placed on his shoulder, making Sam's skin crawl.

"Wasn't that what you should have been doing?" He didn't try to keep the bitterness out of his voice. It was a hero's job to protect the bystanders. Something bug breath never seemed to remember. Since he arrived in New York there were several instances when Sam had to divert and save the civilians while Spider-Man got all the glory of catching the baddie.

The hero had the sense to deflate a bit and look ashamed. He rubbed the back of his masked head. "Yea, sometimes it can be too much for one guy to handle. So, uh, thanks for the help." He stopped rubbing his head and straightened up. "But don't do something stupid like that again. You could have been killed!"

Sam snorted. This guy had no idea. What was with saying he couldn't do it alone? He was always telling Nova to take a hike, that he had it covered. Ass.

The sirens were closer now, and Spider-Man looked like he was about to bolt. "So. Uh, are you okay?"

Sam grabbed the broken leg of a table to use as a makeshift crutch. "Fine. I don't live far."

Spider-Man took a few steps and turned back around. "Why don't I take you? Home. Or to the hospital?"

If he could get home to his helmet he'd be fine. But no way in hell was he going to the hospital. They'd see his ankle wasn't really just twisted. Then he'd have to pretend for weeks...and he knew from experience how totally not-fun that was.

"I'm fine." He grit it out and made his way to the back exit - slowly due to his leg.

Spider-Man held the door for him, glancing towards the front in what appeared to be a nervous manner. It was always so hard to tell with masks.

"Okay, slow poke."

Before Sam could retort, he was hoisted bridal style and was carried out the back door. The door led to a small alley between the cafe and one of the dorms. He knew the bug brain was strong, but being lifted like he was nothing put a whole new perspective on it for Sam.

"Put me down." Sam pushed at the spider symbol on his chest. "I'm not some damsel needing rescued."

"I beg to differ." And the asshole chuckled- CHUCKLED- at Sam.

Sam leveled his angriest glare at the hero. "I can walk home on my own. I live right off of campus." He added 'you dick' to himself. No way he was going to give himself away by picking a fight.

"Let me take you to your building. It is the least I can do. You're only hurt because of my fight with Croc."

Sam groaned. The guy wasn't going to let up. "Fine."

Spider-Man began to walk out to the alley then paused. "Uh, which way?"

Sam gave him directions. He made a mental note to move far, far, away if his identity was ever discovered. He didn't want Peter to get caught in the crossfire of that fight.

The hero shifted Sam so he was holding him with one arm. Sam realized what was going to happen, and was powerless to stop it. The wall crawler shot webbing to the top of the dorm building and hoisted them up. Halfway up, Sam was shifted again and Sam vowed he was going to pummel the creap the next time he saw him as Nova. Spider-Man's hand was gripping his ass to hold him in place. Which was unnecessary. Totally unnecessary. And he was going to kill him.

Spider-Man leaped and webbed building to building, holding Sam close to his body as he ran. And dammit, Sam felt himself reacting to being held so close. If it wasn't Bug-Man holding him, he would have let himself get lost in the feeling. But it was Butt-Wipe, and Sam tried to force down the blush he knew was creeping up his neck. The hero needed to let go of his ass, he needed to stop squeezing it slightly whenever they were airborne.

Finally, after what seemed like ages of torture, they landed on the roof of his apartment building. Spider-Man hesitated a moment before gingerly sitting Sam down.

Sam straightened out his clothes. "Thanks for the- uh- ride."

"Anytime." Spider-Man backed towards the edge. "And I mean it. Anytime." He made a phone gesture, "Call me."

Sam sputtered. "What?"

Spider-Man was already swinging away. He twisted and called back to Sam, "You have a very nice ass!"

Sam wasn't sure if he should be flattered or if he should vomit. So, it wasn't an accident- the bug had been feeling him up or purpose. A tingle shot down his back and he shook out his arms. He always suspected he was a creep, but hitting on an innocent bystander? New low. New low.

He put Spider-Man out of his mind and made his way down the stairs to his apartment. Not for the first time, he was glad they lived on one of the top floors. His leg was screaming at him by the time he made it inside his apartment. He scooted to the room and plopped the Nova helmet on his head. Immediately he could feel the bone mending. It was a light, soothing, feeling.

From the bedroom, Sam heard the apartment door fly open. "Sam?"

"Shit." Sam pulled the helmet off and stowed it quickly. His leg wasn't done healing, but it was no longer broken. "Peter?"

Peter burst into their room. "Sam." He was breathing heavy. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?"

Sam eyed him. "Did you run here from class?"

Peter put his hands on his knees, bending over and breathing heavy. He nodded.

"I'm fine. I've kinda got used to random monster attacks since moving here." He shrugged. "Hey, I got out of work an hour early!"

"D-Don't even joke." Peter caught his breath and pulled Sam into a tight hug. "You could have been killed."

Killed by Killer Croc. Sam was sure there was a joke there somewhere. He returned the embrace. "I'm fine Pete. Go back to class."

"But-"

"No buts. Except your butt." He gave Peter's rear a squeeze. Sam pulled back pushed Peter towards the door. He landed on his ankle, sending pain up his leg. It wasn't as bad as it had been.

Peter saw his grimace. "See, you're hurt. I'm skipping class today."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I'm going to lay on the couch and put ice on my ankle. You skipping class won't do either of us any good."

Peter opened his mouth to protest.

"No arguments. Go to class."

Peter shut his mouth and dropped his shoulders. "Fine."

Sam leaned up to give Peter kiss. "I'll see you after your classes for our date."

Peter perked up a bit. "Right. Our date." He left the apartment with his goofy smile plastered over his face.

Once he left, Sam retrieved his helmet and finished healing his ankle. He would need to pretend for a day or two, but he could live with that. After he finished, he stowed the helmet again and went to climb into bed. Except his pillow now had a Spider-Man pillow case on it. He punched it, imagining it being the real thing. Peter needed to stop this prank, it was definitely not even remotely funny. No way he was going to sleep on the Bug-Man's face. Sam removed the pillow case and retrieved the scissors. It didn't take long to completely eviscerate the entire offending cloth.

Once all the pieces were deposited on Peter's side of the room, Sam curled up to take a nap. A well deserved nap. He had plenty of time to think about Peter too.

* * *

Thank you for reading!

These two dorks. Omg. Peter, stop feeling Sam up while your in costume. It's just obscene!


	3. Chapter 3

**A NOTE ON SMUT**  
Unfortunately, I will not be posting the smut version of this on this site. I've gotten a few messages/reviews upset at the lack of action, but FFN has a 'no smut' rule, and all it takes is one person to report a story they BAM- _deleted_. I feel bad, but that is how it is. I've seen too many fics become victims and do not wish to risk it again myself. **It is available on AO3, feel free to PM me for a link.**

I'm far too lazy/busy to write an alternate scene in place of the smut for each chapter. I feel terrible about it, but it leads to needing to ALSO re-write other parts where they reference what happened in the non-safe-for-FFN parts. I don't want there to be any confusion about references moving forward, so I'm going to notate the parts where things are removed to make it easier (I hope). Please, let me know if the notations are annoying and I'll put theme in an end note instead.

* * *

[Removed Smut Chapter]

After a thorough scrub down, Sam turned on the TV and laid down on the couch. Mindless TV was just what he needed to forget about the _incident_. Before he knew it, he was being shaken awake by Peter.

"Hey, sleeping hot stuff." Peter was grinning ear to ear.

Sam sat up and groggily asked, "Hot stuff?"

"Yea, like sleepy beauty." Peter ruffled his hair before walking towards their bedroom. He called over his shoulder, "How's your foot?"

Sam rubbed at his eyes before slowly dragging himself into the bedroom as well. He raised his voice so Peter could hear him as he walked. "My foot feels fine. I'll just be careful how I walk on it, but- Peter?"

Peter was stiffly standing over his dresser and had jumped slightly when Sam entered the room. He was turned away, but Sam could see the ridged set of his shoulder blades.

"Everything okay Pete?"

Peter stuttered, his voice taking a high pitch. "Y-yup. Fine." He grabbed a clean shirt and quickly retreated from the room, but not before Sam caught a glimpse of his flushed face. He heard the bathroom door slam close.

"Wha?" Sam ran a hand through his hair. What had gotten into Peter? He turned to his side of the room and immediately realized just what had happened. "Shit."

He forgot to put away his, ah, _toy_. After cleaning it, he had flung it onto his bed. Heat rose to his cheeks as well. Poor Peter. Then he chuckled, yea, poor Peter who put Spider-Man crap all over his side of the room. Sam shrugged to himself before grinning maniacally; he may as well acknowledge it, it wasn't like Peter didn't _know_ what he did.

He walked, okay, he may have skipped, over to the bathroom door. He tapped lightly on it with his knuckles to get Peter's attention.

"Heya Pete." He waited for Peter's grunt of acknowledgment. "Just so you know," Sam's grin widened, "I was thinking about you."

The sound of something falling to the floor -probably Peter dropping whatever was in his hands- let Sam know Peter heard him. Peter didn't need to know about the intruder in his fantasy, nope, Sam was going to block that out forever.

* * *

An hour later they were awkwardly sitting across from each other at a new restaurant. Well, not new-new, just one neither of them had been to before. Their conversation topics stayed safely on the menu choices until the server took their order. Then, well, Sam was playing with the edge of his napkin, and Peter was dazedly looking around the dining room.

"It shouldn't be this awkward." Finally, Peter voiced it.

Sam looked up from his partially mutilated napkin. He took in Peter's uncertainty, the downward tilt of his lips, and the shallowness of his breathing.

And Sam laughed.

He laughed at how absurd they were being, and at how much he really wanted to pull Peter across the table and kiss his stupid cute pout. Before he could move on his impulse to grab Peter's shirt and yank him over, Peter started laughing too.

When they calmed down, Sam managed to wheeze out, "Yea, but two dorks like us will make even the most awesome thing awkward."

Peter smiled almost sheepishly. "You think this is awesome?"

Sam hummed and tapped his cheek. "Not yet. But, the potential is here." He reached across the table to squeeze Peter's hand to emphasize his sincerity.

Peter visibly relaxed after that. "So, what will happen with your job?"

"Eh, last time it happened their insurance paid our wages 'till the place was rebuilt." It was like a paid vacation. Last time, the diner had been completely leveled over night, it had taken almost two months to get everything running again.

Peter leaned slightly towards him, excitement dancing in his eyes. "So, still hate Spidey after he saved you?"

Sam sighed and started from the beginning. When he go to the part where Spider-Man left him on the rooftop, Peter was in tears from laughter.

"The dude's a creep." Sam crossed his arms.

"He complimented your ass."

"Aren't you pissed some dude felt me up?"

"What? No! I mean, Spider-Man thinks my boyfriend's ass his great. So, score one for me!"

Sam rolled his eyes. He quickly sobered as Peter's words registered. "Boyfriend?"

At Peter's crestfallen expression, Sam quickly expanded. "I mean, we haven't really talked about it? Not that I'm against it...but..."

"But it's a little rushed?"

"Yea?' Sam was grateful when Peter reached over to hold his hand. "I mean, this is our first date, right? And we've only really talked about some pervy hero. I'd rather get to know my date better."

Peter chuckled. "Yea. Well, you know me pretty well already."

Their food came then, momentarily cutting their conversation. As soon as the server left, Sam picked up where they left off.

"So, tell me something I don't know about you."

Peter opened his mouth and immediately snapped it shut. He thought for a moment while they started on their meals.

"Well. Can I start with a confession?"

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"So... you know how I kicked you out of the apartment a lot after MJ and I broke up?"

"Yea. Bringing up your series of random hook ups is not A+ first date material there…" Sam began ripping at his napkin again.

"That wasn't why…" Peter ran a hand through his hair. "I was, um, researching."

Researching? Oh. OH! Peter had let something slip about that the previous night. He had forgot… _'You, know...the porn doesn't hold anything to you.'_ Wow. So, Peter spent all that time…'researching'?

"Sam- no! It wasn't all-" Peter lowered his voice "-porn. I was reading up on preparation... and... okay, it was mostly porn."

Sam processed what Peter told him- so he had been…

Peter's voice cut through his thoughts. "So, yea. I was thinking about you too."

Heat rose up Sam's neck. "Yea?" Wow, had anyone ever told him they got off thinking about him?

"Yea."

Peter reached across the table, speared one of Sam's shrimp and popped it into his mouth. Sam made an indignant sound before stealing one of Peter's fries. Finally, they were relaxing, acting more like the friends they were, and _flirting_.

"So, your turn. What's something _I_ don't know about you?"

 _Oh, yea, hey. I'm a superhero. With some awesome powers. And, while I'm being open about it- I really hate that webbed menace, could you stop putting his face on my side of the room? Thanks._

"Um." What did Peter not know about him? He racked his brain for something, anything, not relating to Nova, because _'Hey, I totally have been to space'_ was not an option. Well, there was a thought. When would it be an option? They had known each other for a while already, and now they were going to be dating. At what point should he tell Peter the truth?

"What was your first job?" Patient eyes met his, and Sam realized he had been inside his own head for longer than intended.

 _Being a hero_. "I helped bus tables at the cafe my mom worked at. Helped pay the bills after my dad disappeared."

The conversation flowed freely for the rest of their dinner. By the time the check came, they were holding hands across the table and sharing stories from their high school days. When the server left the table, Sam reached for the check, only to find Peter was already pulling it towards him.

"Hey, I got it Peter."

Peter threw his card in the check folder. "I asked you out tonight."

"Fine. But I'm paying next time." The certainty of a 'next time' sent his heart pounding in his chest. It had been a while since he was this excited about a second date. What would a second date with Peter look like? Should they go to a movie? Or what about-

"Ready?" Peter was already moving out of their booth.

Had he spaced out that long again? "Y-Yea. Sorry."

Peter offered him his hand and didn't let go for their whole walk home. Sam shivered against the cool evening air and pushed himself closer to Peter's warm side.

Next to him, Peter chucked. "Why are you always so cold?"

Sam wrapped his other arm around the one he was hold hands with, feeling the strong muscle under his shirt. "Dude, I'm from Arizona. I live for the heat." _And the Nova Force is super warm and spoils me_.

Soft lips kissed his temple. "If I had a jacket right now I'd give it to you." The lips retreated. "But- it'd probably be more like a dress on you."

"Did you just make a short joke at my expense, Parker?" He looked up at his friend-boyfriend-date(?). That was one distinction that would take some time.

Peter squeezed his hand. "I like your height, it's cute."

When they arrived home to their apartment they untwisted their arms and unlocked the door. As the door swung open neither of them moved.

"So." Peter rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle. "This is usually where that awkward ass first date kiss happens."

"Well, we are well beyond that."

Peter dropped his arm, his expression sobering. "Sam, we live together and-"

"Yea, let's talk about it inside." Sam pulled Peter inside, kicking the door closed.

They fell onto the couch, closer than they would have sat _before_. Sam was the first to speak up and break the silence. "Do we need rules for this?"

Peter snapped his head in Sam's direction. "Rules?"

Sam nodded and snaked an arm around Peter. "Rules. Like- don't randomly sleep in each other's beds? And we need personal space and time... and… that's all I can think of. There's probably more."

If it weren't for Peter being so close, pressed against his side, Sam may have remembered his other hang ups about dating his roommate. He could always voice them later. But, he was too busy focusing on the _perks_ of dating his roommate.

Without warning, Sam shifted himself, flinging a leg around Peter so he was essentially straddling him. It was nice to be the one looking down for once. There was a moment of uncertainty- was he being too forward? But warm hands moved to support his back, pulling him in closer.

Sam let himself be pulled down. His nose was brushing Peter's when he paused. "I thought of something else."

"Hmm?"

"Dating. We need to go out, like out of the apartment. Or it's not dating, it's fucking your roommate."

"I think that's something I can get behind." Peter moved a hand down to squeeze Sam's behind as he said it. "Hmm...Spider-Man was right. You have a very nice ass."

"Shut up." Sam closed the small gap between their mouths. He meant it to be a soft and meandering kiss, but he quickly lost control when Peter moaned. And he would give anything to hear that beautiful sound again.

[Removed Smut Part]

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

_ wow has it reallllly been this long since I updated? Eeek. Hope half a chappie of sex makes up for it :)

A huuuuge thank you to EmeraldsAndAmethyst/Cheeszygoddess for helping me with the sex scene!

* * *

Without his job to worry about for the time being, _thank you evildoers_ , Sam had much more free time. Per their agreement, he and Peter went on actual dates away from their apartment and also maintained personal time. Of course, Sam used _his_ personal time to play hero.

Playing hero usually went pretty well, if he said so himself. And hey, even if the spider menace took credit for some of his work, he knew he did good. Saving lives was about more than getting his face on tv, or having fans, or merchandise.

 _Okay_ , he wanted all of those things too. Imagine: Nova themed skateboards and maybe a tv show….

And, having Spider-man merch _constantly_ thrown in his face by his boyfriend was starting to wear on him. He knew, if things with Peter continued, he would eventually need to tell him the truth. That he, Sam Alexander, was the mighty hero called Nova, and he _hated_ Spider-man. But, that 'eventually' was a long way off. He would just have to resign himself to shredding the 'gifts' Peter left him.

At least, Peter eased up on it. There wasn't a pillowcase, or mug, or plush, _everyday_ anymore. But, at least once, often twice, a week, they had the same argument.

"You made the mess, you clean it up," Peter said while staring at the remains of a Spider-Man lamp.

Sam had no idea where he found a _lamp_ , but he had a suspicion it was from the same place he found the rest of the junk. Probably an art student, or Spider-Man fan who had too much time and not enough sense.

"Stop trying to turn me into some spider lover." Sam threw his arms up, tired of the same thing. "I'm never going to like that menace, so just get over it."

"But-"

It took a lot of Sam's willpower, nearly all of it, to not cave at the sad puppy look Peter was giving him. "Never. I hate him."

"I-" Peter huffed, his shoulders slumping further. "I'll see you later." Peter stepped over the the bits of plastic on the floor and reached for his camera bag and jacket.

"Peter. Wait." It took him a moment to adjust to the sudden change from arguing to Peter _leaving_. Sam reached for his arm, but it was pulled away sharply, and Peter left, closing the apartment door with more force than necessary.

"Well, fuck." Sam huffed, still agitated by Peter's antics. He kicked the pile of lamp for good measure. He looked to his bag where his helmet was safely hidden. If Peter could storm off, so could he.

"Maybe blasting some baddies will make me feel better." He didn't believe it would, but he may as well channel his frustration into something positive, right?

In an alley a few blocks from his apartment, Sam paused to put on his helmet. Then, he was soaring high above it all, above the people, the villains, the buildings… but not far enough to escape his own doubts and fears. So, he kept flying, searching for a crime to stop or a baddie's ass to kick. But, New York was quiet, well, as quiet as a city could be.

"I miss Carefree," Sam said to himself as he perched on top a building. Nothing happened in Carefree- and when it _did_ , it was large and easy to spot. New York was a whole other beast. It was a difficult transition to make. Sure, he could hold his own in Space, but he didn't have to _live_ there.

He pulled out his cell, hoping for a message from Peter. All that greeted him was a blank screen.

"Perfect," He muttered to the sky above him. Just a little over a month of dating, and he managed to fuck it up. All because he couldn't keep his loathing of the bug-jerk-man to himself. But where did Peter get off, he knew Sam couldn't stand the joke, yet he persisted. Peter _meant_ well, but there was a _line_. A _LINE_. They were both in the wrong, Sam admitted over the conflicting feelings of guilt and anger.

They were bound to fight, right? It was going to happen, all couples faught. But Peter left, stormed off before they could talk it out. What did that mean?

"Well, short term," Sam said aloud, "it means he probably cancelled our museum date for tomorrow. Long term…" he swallowed around the growing lump in his throat. Peter wouldn't break up with him over Spider-man, would he? _Shit_ , he must have spent a lot on those gifts…

"Aurgh!" Sam punched at the air. "Why am I such an idiot?"

"I think it's just in your nature. Your default setting, ya know?"

Sam whipped around, "You!" The web crawler was hanging upside down a few feet behind his perch.

" _Me_!" The red and blue hero spread his arms out in a silent 'ta-da'.

"Go away. I was here first." Today was not the day. If Sam couldn't fully blame himself or Peter for their argument, he could most certainly blame the menace himself. If he wasn't so infuriating he wouldn't hate him so much, wouldn't despise seeing his face in his apartment, wouldn't have destroyed Peter's 'gifts'.

"Wellllllll," Spider-man dropped down to the roof with unnecessary flourish. "Technically, I was. You know, with it being my city and all."

Sam muttered under his breath. The dance was familiar: they would exchange words, mock each other, then rush off to aide someone mid argument like the good heroes they were. Maybe some shoving afterwards. But, today… Sam was itching for a fight, wanted to cross the line they'd been dancing on and just sucker punch the buffoon.

"Seriously, go away." Sam floated up, putting some distance between them. "I'm not in the mood for your dumb jokes."

"Aww, but Sparky, my jokes are A+. You should appreciate them since you're both outa this world. And by that, I mean: go the fuck back to your space rock." He kept his tone sinisterly sweet as he walked towards Sam at an angle.

"I'm not from space you bug. I'm from Earth. And if I want to defend the people of this city, I'm going to."

Spider-man crossed his arms, he needed to look up to talk to Nova as he hovered a few feet above the roof. "Compensating a little bit?"

"Urgh. Yea, yea, I'm short. Real original bug-boy."

"Arachnid." Without uncrossing his arms, Spider-Man turned his wrist, shooting webbing at Sam's face. "I like it better when you don't talk."

Ew, ew. Sam pulled the webs from his mouth, managing to dislodge most of it after a few tugs. "Yuck urgh, what the hell."

"Hey, I could have used the stickier stuff." He shrugged, "You're _welcome_."

What was his problem? Sam lowered himself down to float face to face with his nemesis. Fuck, heroes shouldn't be enemies. "Do you pester _all_ the other heroes in the city, or just me?"

"Just you." Sam could hear the smile behind the words. "I actually have friends."

Sam snorted. "Like I believe that." He knew Spider-Man did, indeed, have friends of the hero variety, but a jab was a jab, right?

They were past the point when something would normally go BOOM- the ultimate argument ender, preventing them from doing more than than an insult tango. If it came to blows, Sam was uncertain if he should fly off or stick around to see just which of them would come out on top. Neither of them needed _that_ hit to their public image. He could see the headlines now, JJJ screaming about them. But, hey, Nova in the news? Publicity was publicity and all that

Spider-Man gave his shoulder a test shove. "So, why don't you fly away?"

Sam grit his teeth. "I don't get it." He shoved Spider-Man with slightly more force.

"Oh maaaan." A whistle sounded from across the roof. "Look at you two love birds, bickering like an old married couple already."

Spider-Man rolled his eyes, well, Sam assumed he rolled his eyes from the roll of his head. "Not now Torch."

"Awww," Torch cooed as he moved closer to the pair of heroes. "Nova, did you steal his web fluid again?"

Nova grunted when a too-hot arm wrapped around his shoulders. Most of the other heroes left them to argue, but not Torch. At least Iron Fist wasn't with him, he was so not in the mood for a 'get along' lecture.

He didn't take his eyes off Spider-Man, just because there was a witness didn't mean the web-freak wouldn't try to sucker punch him. Especially since the witness was Spider-man's friend.

"It was once. He got the jump on me _once_." Spider-Man didn't flinch when Johnny used his hold around their shoulders to pull them closer.

"It was a misunderstanding," Sam grumbled.

"Annnyway." Torch let Sam go so he could tug at Spider-Man. "DD and White Tiger have a training run setup, wanna join? Power Man said he might swing by."

Spider-Man shrugged. "Why not." He webbed off without a farewell, leaving Torch and Sam alone.

"Rude as ever." Torch turned back to Sam. "I'd invite you….but."

"I get it." He waved him off. "I'm the outsider your can-do-no-wrong friend hates."

Johnny sighed. "Kid, you're good. Don't tell jerk McWebs I said that. Keep doing what you do, this city needs all the help it can get."

What the _what_? He watched as the Human Torch jetted off to chase Spider-Man.

Sam hung his head now that now one was around to see. He would always be the outsider, wouldn't he? As a hero and a citizen… he didn't fit in in the city. He seethed, clenching his fists, and it was all Spider-Man's fault. It always came back to him.

With the city's lack of major crime, Sam flew back to his apartment hoping he would find Peter already home, ready to apologize for antagonizing him. But, the apartment was dark and quiet, with no sign Peter came home at all in the hours he was out.

Well, shit. He checked his phone again, no messages. Like hell he was going to apologize first, it was Peter's fault anyway. Sam sighed, he should at least clean up the mess he made from the lamp.

* * *

Sam fell asleep on the couch to bad tv., he didn't intend to, but emotional stress had a way of zapping all of your energy. It wasn't until the lights were flipped on, flooding the room, that Sam awoke from his impromptu nap. He tried to bury his face into the cushion, seeking the darkness a little while longer.

"Uh, Hey." Peter's wary voice carried to him from the entryway.

Sam was up, no longer fighting for more sleep. Peter was home. He came back.

"Did you, stay here all day?" He leaned his bag against the wall and walked towards Sam. As he approached, Sam saw the dark bruise along his jaw.

"Shit, Pete." He bolted up, gingerly touching the mark. "What happened?"

Peter shrugged and pulled his face away. "Failed mugging. Not like I have any money for them to steal."

"Fuck. Sit down, I'll get you some ice." He turned Peter towards the couch, then ran to the kitchen. Of all the days he took off…. But where were the other heroes? Where was Spider-Man?

"Sam, it's nothing." Peter laughed, when Sam came back with a towel filled with ice. "I'm fine, promise."

Sam sat sideways on the couch and pressed the makeshift ice pack to Peter's face without a word. He'd been so angry that morning, they both had been. But he let Peter leave, he stopped his patrol early, and shit- it could be so much worse. It could have been a phone call, telling him Peter was in the hospital, or worse-

"Hey, Sam." Peter reached up to cup Sam's chin. "I'm okay."

Sam shook a bit as Peter's face blurred. He might not have been okay, the last thing they ever did together could have been a fight, a stupid argument over novelty gifts.

"H-hey. It's fine, Sam." Peter pushed their foreheads together. "I'm here. The bruise will be gone by tomorrow." He reached up to cup the hand holding the ice.

"What if you _weren't_ fine?" Sam spoke the words as his lips hovered over Peter's. "Wh-what if-"

Peter cut him off with a quick peck of his lips. "No 'what ifs', Sam. I'm _fine_. And," he pushed their foreheads back together, "I'm sorry."

"No," Sam said, "I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't mean for you to leave…"

Peter pried the ice pack out of Sam's hands and tossed it aside. "Hey," he pushed at Sam, "let's go lay down."

Sam nodded and let Peter lead him to the bedroom, too drained to argue. "You cleaned up the mess."

Sam only nodded against Peter's chest. "Hey… this is the first time we've cuddled on the bed."

Peter snuggled him closer. "About time too." He wrapped an arm around Sam's waist.

"Mmhmmm. Stupid rules. I'm sleeping here tonight." Sam breathed in Peter's scent, it surrounded him. "Sorry 'bout smashing your gifts."

"I'll stop." Peter kissed the top of his head. "Just one more I already got, though."

Sam laughed into Peter's chest. "You're such a dork."

"But, I'm your dork." He ran his hands along Sam's spine.

Sam smiled against Peter, "Yea, guess you are."

They laid together for a while, snuggled close, enjoying the sound of the other's breathing. Fighting, Sam decided, sucked, but it led to some awesome snuggles.

It was nice to be on a bed for once instead of the couch; they could intertwine their legs without going over the edge, lay side by side in comfort, no elbows to worry about. Peter continued to run his and up and down Sam's back, a soothing anchor reminding him Peter was _there_.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Peter spoke again, barely a whisper into Sam's hair. "You still awake?"

"Mmmhmm." How could he sleep with Peter so close? On Peter's bed.

"We still on for the museum tomorrow?" His hand didn't stop in movement up and down Sam's back- and okay, if he kept that up, Sam just might fall asleep.

" 'course." He shifted his head to nuzzle into Peter's neck. "Why wouldn't we?"

The hand continued it's up and down pattern on his back. "Thought you might still be mad I stormed out…"

Sam kissed his neck lazily. "I wouldn't be snuggling you if I was still mad." The hand on Sam's back dipped lower, stopping to caress the curve of his ass. "Mm, keep doing that and it'll be more than snuggles."

The grip tightened, "Is that so?" Sam could hear the smile in Peter's voice. "I gueeeeeessss I could be persuaded to stop, ya know, if you're too tired."

" _Parker_." Sam ground his growing erection against Peter's leg. "You are such a fucking tease."

"Hmmm? Me?" Peter continued his ministrations.

Sam gave Peter's neck another series of kisses, then pulled himself up to straddle him. Peter's hand followed his ass, and as Sam settled over him, his other hand also found its way, cupping the other cheek.

"Fuck, I love your ass." Peter gave it a squeeze for emphasis.

Sam answered by rolling his hips, pressing his ass into Peter's ready hands. He leaned down to whisper in Peter's ear. "How much do you like it?"

* * *

[sorry, ffn's rules please read on AO3 if you'd like the non-story part]

* * *

Eventually, Peter's breathing started to even out and he half rolled towards Sam. "That… was…"

Sam just kissed him, too tired to put words to how hot the whole thing had been. How hot Peter was.

"Shit," Peter said when they finally broke away. "Can we do this every night?"

Sam laughed, "Ask me again in the morning." He forced himself to sit up. "It was just two fingers, but you're prob going to be a bit sore…"

Peter raised an eyebrow like he didn't believe him. Then looked down at the mess Sam left on his stomach and scrunched his nose. He shrugged and fell flat on the bed again, too tired to clean it up.

Sam would think further on his feelings another time, but he was no longer worried about their sexual compatibility. Shit, he shouldn't have worried past that first night. He wiped his fingers off on Peter's him and snuggled closer. He didn't think he'd ever been more comfortable, or fallen asleep more quickly.

* * *

Next chapter is the turning point... hopefully it wont take me 6 months.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the delay with this chapter. I struggled a bit with the action... not my strong suit. I opted for a less detailed series of events for the sake of time/length. I hope it works :)

 _'I learnt long ago to hate my enemies. But I've never loved one before.'_ _-Thomas Shelby in his letter to Grace, Peaky Blinders 1.6_

* * *

Sam's mom always said something like: 'Memories are what make a person. Remember the good times, don't dwell on the bad'.

When he was young it didn't make much sense. Of _course_ he would think about the positive stuff- Kaelynn's birth, family days at the zoo, and that one really weird snow day (even at 7 years old, Sam knew snow is Arizona was strange). Then his dad, well, got worse. Looking back, Sam could now see his dad tried. Tried to cope. But their family could have had such a better life…

Now… now Sam understood them both. If someone were to take away his helmet, ground him- well, he would be depressed too. And all he would have were the memories.

But his father had dwelled on the bad. Remembered losing his helmet more than he thought of his times flying.

If Sam lost something, he took his mother's advice and remember the good times. He didn't replay the loss. It wasn't that he forgot, no, he still reflected back, remembered the pain. But it didn't control him. And when he was at his darkest, he pulled out his favorite memory and clung on. It made the darkness more bearable.

Putting on his helmet for the first time used to be his favorite memory. It was freedom. An escape from his dead end life in his dead end town. Flying through the sky, through space, being a hero- he thought nothing could ever be better.

He thought nothing could ever be as irreplaceable as his helmet.

But then, Peter happened.

And if he lost Peter, he may as well lose his helmet too. Because what good was the wind in his face and the stars in the sky, if Peter wasn't there to greet him when he came home?

Waking up, completely wrapped around Peter on his bed was now his new favorite memory. It was so much better than waking up in his own bed, cold and alone, wishing he was across the room. It was so different than falling asleep together on the couch, it was more intimate, more comfortable.  
It was something he wanted to do over and over; he wanted to wake up next to Peter everyday for the rest of his life.

Even standing in the museum, surrounded by countless masterpieces, he only had eyes for Peter.

The museum was Peter's idea; a cheap date for two broke college students. Sam _appreciated_ art, but he didn't have the same enthusiasm as Peter. The hours flew past with Peter talking about his favorite works in detail, enthralling Sam with his knowledge to the point he wasn't even looking at the paintings, but at the beautiful man before him.

"You seem to be enjoying this more than I hoped." Peter's arm was firmly around his waist as they walked by painting after painting.

Sam snorted. "I can enjoy art." He smirked up at Peter, "Especially exquisitely carved sculptures."

He expected Peter to blush like he usually did when Sam complimented him, but instead he pushed Sam behind the grand spiral staircase leading to the upper level. Sam had a few seconds to be proud of his nerdy boyfriend's forwardness before Peter's mouth was on his, hot and demanding.

Sam's back hit the cool marble wall, his hands instinctively traveled over Peter's back, urging him closer. He could smell his soap on Peter's skin from their shared shower that morning, and a possessive thrill shot through him. Peter was _his_.

Their hands roamed as their tongues explored. Sam moaned into the kiss when Peter's hands dipped lower, squeezing his ass just as his hips rolled closer.

They pulled away, panting. Wanting. Peter growled low into Sam's ear, "I want to take you here against the wall."

Sam shivered.

"You're a masterpiece, you deserve to be on display."

Despite the effect the words had on his lower regions, Sam threw his head back against the wall and laughed. "Fucking nerd- seriously?"

Peter giggled into his neck, "So, is that a yes?"

Sam groaned, turning his head towards Peter, unsure if he was serious. Then, deciding even _if_ Peter was serious he wasn't up for public sex.

Sam sighed and tentatively stroked Peters hair. "How about we get some ice cream and lick it obscenely in front of each other?"

Peter laughed harder, using his grip on Sam's hips to support himself. He nuzzled against Sam's neck, then pulled away. "Yea, lets finish up this hall. Can we do the upstairs next week?"

"Sure." The museum may not have ever been one of _Sam's_ ideas of a great date, but he found himself looking forward to listening to Peter talk more on the art. And if Peter was happy, he was happy.

The grip Peter had on his hips didn't let up, and Peter stayed close, breathing into Sam's hair.

"Hey, I'm all for making out, but I don't want to banned 'till after we've seen the whole museum."

Peter kissed the skin behind his ear. "I- I just want to hold you." He hummed, burying his nose in Sam's hair and inhaling deeply. Then he murmured something Sam couldn't make out.

Sam melted into the embrace. "What was that?"

Peter said something again, the words lost in Sam's hair.

"Dude."

Peter pulled back a little, resting his nose on Sam's cheek. His body was a little stiff as he whispered, "I love you."

Sam melted and pulled Peter closer. He turned his head to look Peter in the eyes, smiling brightly. There was no doubt when he said, "I love you too."

Peter let out the breath he'd been holding, his body once again relaxing against Sam. He bit his lip, "Thank you," he whispered, "for being so patient with me."

At least Peter saved him from the uncertainty of being the first to say those words, and his heart soared from knowing his feelings were returned. Sam moved his hand to cover Peter's, pulling it from his hip so their fingers could intertwine. In truth, he didn't feel like he was being particularly _patient_ , as Peter was the one pushing their relationship more and more physical.

Peter's phone chirped, ruining their perfect moment behind the elegant stairs. "Shit," he said as he pulled his phone out, "I didn't realize how long we've been here."

Sam kissed him, laughing as he pulled away. "MJ doesn't like to be kept waiting. I'll text her begging her to not chew your ass _too_ badly, I kinda like it."

"Asshole."

"Hmm. But you looooove me," Sam singsonged as he pulled Peter back to the hall, leading him outside. "Bring me back some leftovers?"

"Yea, yea. I'll pick up some ice cream too. I'll let you eat it off me." He winked then dipped down to kiss Sam. "I love you."

He would never tire from hearing Peter say it.

"I love you too."

He would never tire from saying it.

Sam watched Peter race down the street, waving back when he turned around with a huge grin which promised they would have fun later that night. Once Peter disappeared around a corner, Sam turned the opposite direction to head home, his heart lighter than ever as he replayed Peter's words over and over.

Today would be a patrol day, he decided. Peter's plans with MJ would hold him up past dinner, giving Sam plenty of time to wrangle some baddies. If there even _were_ any baddies, the dry spell the previous day couldn't continue for a second day, could it?

Well, even a slow day couldn't pull his mood down. Not even Spider-Man's taunting would bother him; he was Sam Alexander and Peter Parker loved him.

After grabbing his helmet and a quick bite to eat, Sam was flying high over the New York skyline. It was hard to make out what was going on below, but he found he didn't quite care. The other heroes could handle any small time villains. He was content to float among the clouds, up high where few of the other heroes could bother him.

There was a strong temptation to spy on Peter's outing with MJ, to watch him from afar, to make sure he was safe. He had the urge before, several times actually. Some before they even started dating. But he'd held back the need to protect Peter, promised himself he wouldn't be a _creeper_ and stalk him. However, after Peter's attempted mugging the day before, Sam was finding it more difficult to keep the urge at bay.

Instead, he flew through the clouds and thought about Peter. More specifically, Sam thought about how to, and when to, tell Peter about… well, flying through the clouds. Yesterday he was sure it would be a far off time, but now- now that it was _serious_ \- waiting would only cause them both heartache. Maybe he should surprise him, pick him up and soar them through the open sky… or maybe he could just pull his helmet out and explain. He'd find the words when he needed them.

"Space Cadet!"

Nova rolled his eyes. Of the few locals who _could_ find him in the clouds, there was only one who _would_.

"Flame Brain." He liked the guy, not that he would admit it. And he had liked Johnny before he reassured him the previous day. Didn't mean he was going to be all cordial - especially when his 'me' time was interrupted.

"Yea, yea, personal space, time, whatever. Yell at me later." Johnny's words were clipped, without their usual jovial nonchalance. It made Sam turn around and actually pay attention.

Johnny pointed down to the city. "Reports of Doom ramping up something. A's are out on something else- you up for a fight?"

Sam nodded. He was always ready for a fight.

"I'll fill you in while we fly down." He sped down, Sam easily keeping up.

"Explains the lack of destruction _yesterday_."

Johnny chuckled. "Yea, Vickie does that. The smarter of our regulars know to scoot off if he's got something in the works. If they weren't brought into his scheme, they're holed up or skipped town."

They crested the skyline. "Never had the pleasure of seeing Doom in person."

"Don't underestimate him. Stick to your area, take out any of his bots. Leave him to us. We're going to be lite on our side, I don't trust the comms to not be intercepted."

Of course, he got B-team. And the only reason he was invited was because he was nearby and they were staying off the comms. But still: Team Up!  
With the fantastic four! Whoops, he should _probably_ pay attention to what Flames was saying.

"Just a few of us now, hopefully others will see the fray and join in. Looks like he's targeting the park. Not his usual, but I'll take the decreased civilians."

"Central Park?" Sam slowed up.

"Yea. Not sure what the angle is, but Reeds is sure. Can you take the East- Hey!"

"Going to clear civilians," Sam said as he started flying full speed to the park.

"Nova!" Johnny caught up to him "White Tiger and Power Man are clearing it out, but we need to be careful not to give ourselves away. I need you on the East."

"Sorry- I'll circle back East, but my boyfriend is at the park!" Shit- shit.

"Nova!" Johnny growled, but didn't chase him.

Of all his stupid luck. Finally- _finally_ \- he was given a chance to team up, on a big-bad no less, and he screwed it up before the battle even began. But Peter was more important, and he was better equipped than _White_ _Tiger_ to carry civilians out of the way.

He spotted Peter and MJ, ironically on the East side of the park. They were chatting animatedly on a bench, and if the situation wasn't so dire, Sam would have made a joke at the way Peter was waving his hot dog.

Sam stayed where he was, hovering far enough away to not be seen, but close enough to get to him when things went down.

It was a dangerous game. Johnny was right. If he acted now, there was a chance Doom would scrap his plan for the day and come back another day- losing their advantage. But Peter…he wouldn't risk him.

All his debate came crashing down, quite literally, as the ground began to shift. The earth seemed to ripple in various places, the grass falling and rising. Thankfully, none near Peter. He glanced back over to Peter and MJ, seeing they were already fleeing.

Good. They were in no immediate danger, but down the path was a mother and child fighting to keep their footing. Sam didn't hesitate, zooming down in a blur of blue, picking up the pair and flying them out of the park. He didn't have time to listen to their thanks, and was shooting back to the park to extract others. Three other groups, safely deposited outside the fray, and he went back for a fourth.

Now, the ground splintered, the metallic sheen of Doom's bots visible to the surface. Sam spotted White Tiger slashing at one which already fully emerged.

With no more civilians in sight, Sam shot towards the closest robot, hoping to destroy it before it could attack.

He was halfway to it when a scream stopped him in his tracks. Sam turned mid flight, heading towards it. Behind a small building, he could see a fully emerged robot, this one looked animalistic with large blades slashing towards its victims.

Sam blasted at the robotic creature, driving it back. He narrowly dodged a swipe, and wondered how they were going to deal with a whole park full of these things. After a few more well aimed blasts, the blade arms fell to the splintered earth.

It wasn't down, but it was wounded, and Sam took the opening to check on the civilians. When he turned, he saw the ground had fractured severely, preventing people from getting out of the park. And there was Peter and MJ, helping people climb up the wall of dirt.

Sam ground his teeth, they had been safe! He just had to fall in love with a guy with a hero complex.  
As he flew over, he vowed to lecture Peter and reveal his secret ID that night so he never had to deal with the heart clenching fear again. Dammit, Parker, a rabid robot battle in central park was _totally_ _not_ the time to play hero.

Peter picked MJ up so she could grab the ledge, and she pulled herself over. Just as Sam reached Peter, the ground splintered again, and he swooped in, grabbing Peter just as another robot emerged. He may have dug his fingers in a little harder than necessary- but this was the man he loved, dammit. Even if Peter didn't know it was Sam who was carrying him, he didn't complain at the treatment.

Sam wished he had more time to ensure Peter and MJ made it to safety, but all he could do was drop Peter on the street next to MJ. "Get out of here!" He pointed away from the park, "Get yourselves to safety."

He jumped, flying up then flipped back towards the park. As he flipped he was able to get one last look at Peter as he entered the crowd of those fleeing.

Before he landed, he did a quick scan of the park. Several robots, of various design, were engaging with the heroes already there- but the heroes were out numbered. And that was just what he could see, he hoped Johnny Storm was holding his own wherever he was.

Sam dropped down to the robot he wounded previously, landing on it's back and crushing it to the ground.

One down.

He shot off to the next one, making quick work of it with a few blasts. Two more quickly took it's place. Sam blasted at one, then flew himself at the second one.

With a grunt, Sam grabbed onto the blade arm of the second robot, then, held it forward as he propelled the robot towards the other. It sliced through the metal armor and disabled it. Sam narrowly dodged a swipe from the other blade, then twisted and thrusted up, ripping the blade arm off.

Sam flew up slightly, then turned back, the robot's blade still in his grip, and propelled himself back down, slicing the robot in half with its own arm. He turned back, expecting another robot or two to have moved in.

He was greeted by six new robots. They had a mix of features, but each on four legs, and larger than the previous ones.

"Well, shit." Sam didn't see any blades on them like the others, but their mouths were full of sharp teeth. "What's next, guns?"

"Let's hope not."

Sam didn't need to look to know it was Spider-Man who landed next to him. Sam launched himself towards the closest of the robots.

"Great-I show up late and I get stuck with you." Spider-man used his web to latch onto another of the robots, twisting mid-air to dodge the swipe of a claw. "I'm going to totally put itching powder in Johnny's undies."

Sam snorted. He'd seen Johnny in and out of uniform, and beyond a jock- that man absolutely did not believe in underwear. "You do that, menace. I just might thank him myself."

"Yea?" Spidey flipped around, webbing two of the bots together. "What, going to drop him off on the moon?"

Sam blasted the stuck together robots. "Too good for him." Eh, he actually kinda liked Johnny, especially after his praise, and now inviting him to kinda team up (even if it was totally necessary and not by choice - still!)

Together, they made quick work of the robots. Sam momentarily forgot who he was working with, and nearly praised him. But, as always, Bug-Boy couldn't play nice.

"Heh, good work there Spacer, I think you managed to get one of them. I'm proud of you slugger."

Sam huffed from where he was floating a few feet away. "You know damned well I handled my own shit. You'd still be- AH!" He was hit in the back, sending him falling forward before he caught himself, flipping mid fall and landing on his feet.

"You were saying about guns?"

"Not the time for your lame jokes." Sam dodged another blast from the new robot, this one much larger with large guns on both sides.

Spider-Man shot webbing into the barrels of the guns. "I can take this one, why don't you sit it out." He flipped over to start dismantling the robot.

Sam sped over, dodging a blast from a similar robot coming from the north. He bent back the second barrel, then flew to do the same to the newcomer. Halfway there, Spider-Man flipped off of the first robot, landed on Nova, then flipped to the second one.

"Whoo! Beat you!" He waved his middle finger.

"Fuck, I hate you." Nova blasted at the robot.

"Not as much as I hate you." Spider-Man dodged a swipe from the first robot, its guns may have been disabled, but it still had deadly claws.

"Fuck." Another gun toting bot joined in. All they could do was prevent them from leaving the park. By the time they disabled one, it seemed two more took its place.

As Sam flew, dodging projectiles and razor sharp claws, he pondered the escalation of the battle. If the first wave of smaller bots were a distraction to allow the larger ones time to dig their way out, he feared for what was next. But he couldn't worry about that, couldn't fly around the park to see how the other heroes were fairing. He could just hold his section of the park, and hope the others were able to do the same.

Sometime dury the fray, he and Spider-Man separated, each taking half of their area, and half of the robot army. He was thankful the loud mouth was gone, but having a partner had been soooo much easier. Oh man, he would never live it down if Menace-Man found out.

Sam dropped down, grabbing the tail of of one the robots. His current group was pretty dinged up, but still deadly. His chest heaved, exhaustion settling into his muscles, but he continued to fight, using his grip on the robot's tail to swing it into the rest of the group.

It worked. Sam let himself take a moment to pause, just breath, and admire his handiwork. The lack of robots was worrisome, the next wave usually moved in quickly.

Was it over? Or was something worse coming?

With his area momentarily robot free, he turned to offer Spider-Man help. And he turned just in time to watch Spidey use his webbing to pull two robots into each other, sending parts flying on impact.

Spider-Man made sure they were down for good, then fell to a knee, grasping at his side. It was then Sam noticed his state.

"Shit, you okay?" He floated over, offering a hand.

Spider-Man swatted his hand away as he stood back up. "I'm fine," he growled.

Sam wanted to object, given the current state of his uniform. But he refrained. If the asshole said he was fine, who was he to object? If he was truly injured, one of the other heroes was sure to tend to his stubborn ass. One of the heroes spidey actually gave a damn about.

But, he couldn't stop himself from assessing the damage. One of the robots must have caught him with their claw; his suit was ripped on his right side, diagonal slices revealing the bleeding skin beneath. A portion of his mask was also missing, looking like it was singed. It wasn't enough for Sam to see his face, but he caught a tuft of brown hair, and a strong chin.

Too bad, Sam would love to spot the guy on the streets. Maybe taunt him a bit, or throw some eggs…

"Loser, any movement from the North?"

Sam bit his bottom lip as he scoured the area to the North. "Negative. South?"

"Negative. Ha, you responded to loser."

Sam floated up, keeping his back to Spider-Man. "I hear fighting to the West."

Spider-Man's grunt of acknowledgement was followed by webbing whizzing passed Sam's helmet.

"You missed." He turned around and stuck his tongue out. Was he seriously going to play games while lives were on the line?

Spider-Man shot webbing again, this time hitting Sam in the mouth. "Didn't miss, I needed you to turn around."

Sam pulled at the webbing from his mouth.

"Seriously, twice in two days. You're a slow learner." He Webbed onto a tree and swung towards the sound of battle. He tossed over his shoulder a, "Sit. Stay. Don't call us, we'll call you."

Sam huffed, but waited until Spider-Man was out of sight. No way he was go to fight alongside that jackass anymore than necessary. He headed North instead, checking for more robots.

It didn't take long to find another. White Tiger and Power Man struggled to fight off a group of six robots. He swooped in, helping them from getting overrun. Together the three of them cleared the group out.

"Thanks man." Power Man slapped Sam on the back.

"Yea, yea- head West. Something big was going on in that direction."

White Tiger nodded. "What about you?"

"I'm going to circle the parameter, help where I can." Sam waved before flying off.

Group after group. Some heros were overrun, others were waiting on another wave which wouldn't come. He helped where he could, urging everyone to help out with whatever was going on towards the middle if the park.

Eventually, he circled back to his original position. Nothing new was invading, so he turned to fly toward the rest of the battle.

When he arrived, parts littered the grass worse than the rest of the park, and oil stained the trees and heroes. But it was over. A quick glance around revealed no casualties on their side.

In the middle was the remains of a giant robot. Well, that explained the end game a bit. Torch pulled Doom from the cockpit- what was left of it.

Annnd of course - Iron Man showed up, done with whatever he was doing before- to take the evil genius to wherever they took them. Sam wasn't up on his Avengers protocols.

"Hey, nice work glow stick." Johnny landed next to Sam.

"Bull," Spider-Man said from behind them. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"Shut it Webs." White Tiger flicked his exposed ear. "He saved our asses."

Nova closed his eyes, his fists tight at his sides.

"Nova, you really proved yourself today." Johnny laid a hand on his shoulder. "I must say, I was a little disappointed to hear you're taken. Buuuut, if that doesn't work out.. "

Sam couldn't help smiling at Johnny's flirting. The acceptance was nice- and him saying it in front of Spider-Man?

"Yea, sure Johnny. I'm pretty sure I've found the love of my life, though."

"Aww, man." Johnny stuck out his bottom lip. Then, he leaned in to whisper into Sam's ear. "Well, if he turns out to be a huge jackass, look me up."

He pulled away with a wink.

Spider-Man groaned. "This loser? Like anyone would want to-"

"Well, I do." Johnny squeezed Sam's shoulder, turning to stick his tongue out at Spider-Man. "And your opinion is void."

"Anyway." Sam floated away from Johnny's grip. "We need to clean up."

The park was a mess of parts and fluids. It would take hours.

Johnny shrugged and pulled out his phone. "Damage Control is on speed dial. But extra hands are always nice when it's this big of a mess."

Sam nodded. His first real team up. And he got to help clean up. And Peter loved him.

Best. Day. Ever.

"Sparky. You got this right? Okay, everyone, pizza on me. Space Baby is going to clean it up by himself."

"Spidey. Chill." Power Man slapped Sam's back. "Nova has game. Let the past go."

Spider-Man frowned. "He-"

"Now you're just being mean." Johnny tsked at him.

Sam huffed. He could fight his own battle. But the support was nice. "If anyone should leave, it's you. You're injured."

Ben Grimm -and holy hell he was bigger in person- chimed in from behind them. "Yea, taking Glow Bug's side on this one." He poked a large finger at Peter's torn suit.

"I-"

Johnny held up a hand. "You're mask is torn. It's too risky. If it falls off, poof, bye bye secret ID. But then again, it would mean we could date and no one would-"

"Storm, please." White Tiger pulled Spider-Man by his shoulder. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Sam watched in relief as Spider-Man left. Others who were injured left as well.

It didn't take long to have their cleaning assignments. Sam got to carry the large chunks out, an impressive looking job if he did say so himself.

But first, he needed to know Peter was safe. He pulled out his phone, calling Peter as he floated away from the others.

"Hey, babe!"

Sam sighed in relief. "You're okay! I heard about the park and-"

"Yea, MJ and and are okay. We got separated, but I'm meeting back up with her now."

"I'll see you tonight, same time as planned?"

"You know it… Love you."

Sam smiled into his phone. "I love you too."

He floated back down, a million pounds lighter from knowing Peter was safe.

* * *

When Sam arrived home, his bones ached. Thanks to his helmet, all of his injuries were healed. But man, he could use a hot shower.

He dropped his backpack at the door and kicked off his shoes on his way the bedroom. When he passed the bathroom, he heard the shower running. Peter was home earlier than he expected - but then again, after the attack on the park he probably cut his outing with MJ short.

Sam threw open the bathroom door, walking into the wall of steam. "Hey, home early?"

"Sam!" Peter's head poked out of the shower, his smile bright.

A weight lifted from Sam's shoulders. He hadn't seen Peter since he pulled him to safety. Seeing him home, safe. It made everything else fall away. There was only Peter.

"I love you." He kissed Peter fiercely. Today could have gone so wrong, he could have lost pulled away, "Mind if I join you?"

Peter gave him a sloppy smile. "Love you too. You- naked and wet? Yes, please."

Sam chuckled, "I'm going to grab a clean pair of boxers." He pecked Peter on the cheek.

Sam ran to the room to grab his boxers. He froze in the doorway when he saw the room. Well, shit. Peter said he had a few more 'gifts'. His whole bed was Spider-Man. It made his blood boil. After everything. He couldn't escape the asshole, not even in his own home.

Fine. He grabbed the offensive material and stopped off to the bathroom. "Oooo Petey, my love."

"Come get naked with me." Peter poked his butt of of the shower, wiggling it.

"Hold on, someone else wants to say hi." Sam pushed the whole comforter over the top of the shower.

"Wha-ahahh" He heard Peter sink to the floor of the shower. With a chuckle, Peter poked his head out, "Uck- its all wet now. And heavy. Saaaaam"

He fought with the heavy material. "I was trying to get you to sleep in my bed again tonight."

"Yea, I guess I do have to burn mine now." Sam was about to take pity on him when he spotted Peter's clothes on the counter. "Spider-Man boxers? Really Peter?"

Sam ripped the clothes off the counter.

"I love you, but your fashion sense leaves a little to be desired." Oh, he was going to say 'love' as many times as he could. But first: he tossed all of Peter's clothes into the shower. Boxers. Jeans. Shirt. "I bet you'll look just sexy as hell in wet jeans."

Peter mock pouted. "I'm trapped under an unruly wet comforter, a little help?"

Sam bent down to kiss him on the top of his head. "Aww, did you hero turn against you?"

Peter chuckled. "Actually, I wanted to uh, talk to you about that."

"Good, so you'll stop this?"

"Um." Peter pulled at the heavy cloth on top of him. "How about you get in here with me then we'll talk. Hm?"

Sam rolled his eyes and headed towards the door. "Yea, let me get a pair of boxers. Your shenanigans kinda distracted me."

"You can just walk around naked. I won't mind."

Sam smiled at the promise in his voice. "I'll grab you some dry clothes too."

As he closed the bathroom door he heard Peter shout out, "Wait. SAM!"

He hurried into the bedroom, eager to get back to his hot and wet boyfriend. First, he threw open Peter's closet, grabbing for a pair of jeans. He found them easily enough in Peter's mess, but as he pulled away his eyes caught a bit of red fabric.

Sam rolled his eyes. Really, Peter? Did the joker really get a Spider-Man onesie? No way in hell he was sleeping in the same bed as Peter if he wore that. But it would make a nice addition to the shower. He grinned to himself, tugging it out.

The more he pulled out, the more his heart sank. He ran a finger over the torn cloth of the chest. In the exact same spot as… no. No. Sam back away from the closest, holding the costume in front of him.

The door to the bedroom burst open, "Sam!" Peter stumbled in, tangled in the soaking wet comforter.

Sam turned towards the door, his eyes still on the costume clutched in his hands. It wasn't a replica. No way. No. No. It was torn at the exact places Spider-Man was injured earlier.

Peter. His Peter. Who he loved...

"I didn't want you to find out this way- I was going to tell you." Peter pushed his wet hair from his eyes. "Preferably while we were naked in the shower…"

Sam looked up from the costume. Spider-Man. He was living with - dating - Spider-Man. The man who hated him. Made his whole hero life suck.

And he was naked. Dripping wet. Had no idea…

"Sam. Please. I know you don't like spidey… but you love _me_."

Sam dropped the costume, "No…" He shook his head, heart constricting painfully in his chest. Everything around him faded, all he saw was Spider-Man, taunting him, telling him he would never be good enough.

"Sam, I love you." Peter reached for him, but Sam pulled his shoulder away. " _Sam_ look at me."

"Don't - don't touch me." Sam kept his eyes on the red and blue fabric. His breaths were becoming erratic. This was not the time for a panic attack.

He needed air.

So he ran. Bolted past Peter, past the bathroom where the shower was still running, through the living room, and to the door. He heard Peter following, but he needed to get away.

Before he had his second shoe on, Peter was blocking his escape to the door. Of course, he always had his powers - unlike Sam who needed his helmet.

Sam swallowed. Peter lost the comforter along his way, and stood before him in all his naked glory.

It wasn't fair. He finally found someone. Fell in love.

Sam tugged on his shoe then threw his bag over his shoulder. If he didn't look up, it would be easier to leave. He reached past Peter for the doorknob, fighting back his panic.

When it came to fight or flight, Sam had always been a fighter. But not this time.

There was nothing to fight _for_.

"Sam."

The broken way Peter said his name sent a wave of nausea through him. It wasn't fair.

Sam swallowed, thinking of his escape options. There was always the nuclear plan: shove his helmet on his head. But he couldn't handle Peter saying all of those awful things to him.

Even knowing it had been Peter behind the mask was bad enough. But seeing those words come from Peter's lips would destroy what was left of his heart. No. Peter didn't need to know.

"Let me go." Sam stared at the door. His voice cracked, but he held himself tall. Spider-Man wouldn't get the pleasure of seeing him cry.

"Can we sit down and talk?"

"This- this is a deal breaker." Sam shifted his backpack, his helmet a comforting weight. "I'll stop by later to pick up my stuff."

"Please. No." Peter's hand on the door shook.

"Let me go, _**Spider-Man**_." Sam put as much venom into the name as he could, masking his own pain.

The hand fell away, and Peter stepped back. "I'll be here when you're ready to talk."

Sam didn't respond. He opened the door, suddenly unsure where he was going to go.

"I love you," Peter said as Sam stepped out of their apartment.

Sam couldn't muster more than a whispered response. "I _hate_ you."

His hands formed tight fists at his sides. It wasn't fair. How could he love the man he hated; hate the man he loved.

As he jogged down the hall he could hear Peter cry out his name. Now that Peter couldn't see his face, he allowed his tears to fall.

He opted for the stairs instead of the elevator. He needed to move. To run. As soon as the cool evening air hit his face, he ducked down a side street. Once he was sure Peter - Spider-Man - hadn't followed him, he yanked his helmet over his head.

The familiar pressure of his suit materialized around him. The tingle of the Nova force coursed through him. With another quick look around, Sam blasted straight up, over the city.

Up high, he was safe. Spider-Man couldn't find him here.

He looked to the moon, to space, to the stars becoming visible as the sky darkened. But there was no comfort to be found it their light. Not like he usually found. Instead of infinite possibilities, infinite adventures, infinite futures, he only saw one. One possibility. One adventure. One future. 

One without Peter.

* * *

:(

Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Johnny Storm sure is helpful**

Several rewrites for this chapter, still not 100% satisfied, but this is about as good as I'm going to get :-/

* * *

Arizona would have to wait. Even with his mind numb, Sam was still rational enough to realize he didn't have the energy to fly home. Plus, he would probably overshoot it or something equally as embarrassing. Hell, he almost flew straight into four separate skyscrapers in just the last ten minutes.

Though, being home would have been great. His mom would make his favorite comfort foods, and Kae would listen about his breakup and call Peter names to make Sam feel better.

As comforting as the thought was, Sam stayed in New York. He could go home after a good night's sleep, stay there a day, and fly back home in time for his next class.

But. _Where_ did he stay? All of his friends were mutual friends with Peter. And it was only a matter of time before they tried to call him. He shifted in the sky, floating around so the city lights didn't cause a glare on his phone. 12 missed calls, all from Peter. And almost as many voicemails.

Sam didn't have it in him to listen to them. Not yet. He knew, eventually, they would need to talk. But he needed his head straight, needed the ache in his chest to-

"Hey Nova."

That was twice today Johnny had interrupted his thoughts about Peter. Wow. Only a few hours ago he had been up here thinking about how much he loved Peter.

"Yoo hoo! Wow, you really are a space cadet." Johnny laughed at his own joke.

Sam sighed, "Not in the mood."

"Hey, dude. You did good today." Johnny threw an arm around Sam, not bothering to put out the fire. Sam's suit could take the heat. "Don't listen to Spidey, he had no right to say any of that today."

Spider-Man. Peter.

Sam choked back a sob. No, shit, not now- not with Storm here to witness.

"Hey," Johnny's voice lost its jovial undertones. "I mean it, you did great."

Sam shook his head. "I know. Shit. Sorry- just have some personal shit."

"Want to talk about it?"

Sam studied the other hero. He had always been kind in his own joking way. Never cruel. He actually seem genuinely concerned about him.  
But he was Spider-Man's -Peter's- friend. He couldn't complain to Storm, not even if he didn't know exactly who it was he was complaining about.

"No."

"Well, if you change your mind." Johnny shrugged, then his face contorted into a leer. "And my other offer is still on the table too. My bed is alway open if your bae is an ass."

Sam bit his gloved fist to keep in his sob. Just that morning he'd been naked in bed with Peter. And now… could he ever do that with someone else? Logically, he knew he would get over Peter. Eventually.

"Whoa. I've had mixed reactions, but never made someone cry." Johnny wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "I'm sorry- didn't mean to-"

"I just broke up with my boyfriend." The words tumbled into Johnny's shoulder. Sam bit his lip, he didn't need to bring Johnny into his personal drama. Not when it was his friend he just broke up with.

But Johnny's hand on his back was comforting. And the way he held him close…

"I'm sorry, Nova. Do you want to talk about it?"

If he couldn't talk to his sister, maybe Johnny could be the next best option? Then again…. He had propositioned Sam just hours before. And again, just now. Wait- was he seriously interested?

"Don't usually talk about it. Last few break ups… I just found a good lay and moved on."

"Nova…"

"But this time I flew up here instead of hitting the bar."

"You seemed pretty smitten this afternoon. He must have done something really bad."

"I-" Sam focused on the circles Johnny was rubbing on his back. "Peter lied. About something huge."

Johnny's shoulders went ridged. "Did he cheat on you?"

Sam choked out a laugh at that. "I wish. It would make this so much easier. But no, he had a secret." Sam swallowed. "He had a secret and it was a deal breaker."

Johnny didn't say anything, he just continued to hold Sam close. How many people could say they were comforted by Johnny Storm? Because, it wasn't just a hug, it wasn't just about the physical contact. Johnny was there. For him.

And man, did his body feel nice. The warmth was soothing, and damn, his body felt good pressed against his. Maybe his usual way of handling a breakup would work this time… or at least take his mind off of Peter for a little while.

"Were you serious? About hooking up?" It would probably take him a few drinks to keep his mind on point, but if it helped… The more distance he could put between him and Peter, the better.

Johnny pushed him away, holding Sam by the shoulders at arm's length. "Nova. You just… I mean, I'm flattered to be a rebound guy. But…"

"But? Did you seriously just turn down sex?" Time to re-write the book on Storm.

Johnny took a deep breath. "Yes. No. Fuck." He let go of one of Sam's shoulders so he could wipe a hand over his face. "I'm flattered. But Spidey and I are bros."

Hold the phone. "What?"

"I was like 99% sure it was you, you saving Pete this afternoon confirmed…" He squeezed Sam's shoulder.

"Fuck." Sam looked towards the moon, its soft glow comforting. "So, you hit on me… knowing…"

"I was curious if you idiots knew. I mean, I guess you do _now_. And please believe, you are hot- and if my boy Pete wasn't head over heels for you, you better believe we'd be on my bed right now."

Sam took a moment to process. What the fuck was wrong with New York heroes?

"Does he know? About your extracurriculars?"

"No." Sam poked Johnny's nose with a finger. "And he doesn't need to. It would kill him."

"Buuuut, breaking up with him? _Naw_ , he'll be fine."

"Fuck- you are such a tool."

"You say to the guy trying to help."

"It's better this way. Okay? I love Peter. And I can't just- just turn that off. And this is killing me. Knowing he hates me. Hates Nova. I'd like to spare him the same, okay?"

"Bawk Bawk Bawk"

Sam gaped at the man before him. "This isn't a joke."

"You love him… so you broke up with him." Johnny tilted his head. "And you're up here crying about it."

Sam cleared his throat. "Fuck it. I'll take my chances flying to Arizona."

"Whoa." Johnny grabbed his ankle as he tried to fly past. "My place. Now. Liquor." He flew towards his penthouse, toting Sam along by his ankle.

* * *

Three glasses of wine would have been nothing with his helmet on. Filtering the alcohol was a great way to avoid hangovers. Not much fun. Well, except for when it helped him win a drinking contest against unsuspecting aliens. The fallout wasn't fun, but Rocket or Quill always had his back (except that one time they themselves got drunk and _forgot._ Jerks).

But three glasses without his helmet? Well, Sam would say it was safe to call him hovering just under tipsy. He found he didn't mind the wine, or the company. Who knew Flame Brain could be a nice guy and _not_ be trying to get in his pants?

"So," Sam said as he waved off the offer of another glass, "how long have you known?"

"That Nova and Spider-Man were unknowingly dating their alter egos?" Oh, he wanted to smack that grin off his face. "I suspected for a while. Didn't _know_ until you confirmed it. I wasn't sure if you guys knew or not. At first I thought maybe it was an act, a ruse. But maaaaan, Spidey has a hard on for you." Johnny laughed at the double entendre.

"Please, don't tell him." Sam rubbed his temples. He hated that tipsy feeling.

"Do you love Peter?" Johnny leaned forward, face serious again.

"I-" Sam closed his eyes, thinking over the last few months, heck, the last few years. They we're great friends _before_ they started the whole dating thing. Was all of that tainted now?

"The truth, Sam."

"Yes." It wasn't a switch. He couldn't turn it off. Not quickly enough to get over it tonight. "But I don't want to."

"Spidey said some pretty awful things." It wasn't a question. "I wish I could say I knew why. I mean, we all got over that whole crashing through a plane thing."

Yea, not his best introduction ever.

"Peter loves you. I promise, I won't tell him. But you should. He should know why you broke it off. Heck, it would help him move on if anything else."

Move on. Sam sunk lower in his seat. Peter moving on, being with someone else? It would happen. It had to. Eventually. And Sam would too. It didn't make it hurt less now.

"Here." Johnny passed him another tissue.

"I hate this." Sam wiped at his eyes. How embarrassing, crying in Johnny Storm's swanky living room.

Sam's phone buzzed for the first time since he was talking with Johnny. MJ'S face lit up his screen, a fantastic photo Peter had taken of her. He let it go to voicemail.

Sam glanced back up when Johnny's phone rang.

"Heya Petey." Johnny held Sam's gaze. "Huh? Oh… sorry man. … hey… okay… no, wait till morning. … because I … if he doesn't turn up by lunch tomorrow, sure. …. Yea. Okay. … bye."

Johnny pointed at Sam. "Tell him. I really don't want to go out on a wild goose chase looking for you."

His stomach sank. Peter was worried. Of course, Peter wouldn't give up just because Sam said he was done. What did he think he could do? Show up as Spider-Man and 'whisk him away' to convince Sam to come back?

"I'll talk to him. On my own time. I need to get my stuff anyway." Maybe he could just get new stuff? No, he needed his books. Well, shit. Peter would totally be the guy to wait outside of his class for him. Transfer? No. Urgh.

Johnny shook his head. "Guess I'll have a mopey Spidey on my hands for a few months…"

"Maybe he'll leave me- Nova- alone then." Despite his flippant words, Sam sniffled. He didn't want to see Peter upset, even in the Spider-Man suit.

"Get some sleep." Johnny pointed him to a guest room. "This is usually the part where I would wink and invite you to my room," he gave Sam an obvious once over. "I guess duty means I should wait a few weeks before offering a rebound fuck?"

Sam smirked through his tears, "You wish you could have this."

Johnny gave him a weak smile. "I actually do." He clapped his hands, "Well, goodnight."

And Sam was alone with his thoughts again. He glanced down at his phone. MJ left a voicemail. There were several unopened texts from both her and Peter. Maybe he would go through them all tomorrow.

His mom's advice rang through his head. But how could he focus on the good times when he was in the middle of the bad? He pulled out his phone, dialing the familiar number. If he couldn't be in Arizona, this was the next best option.

"Samuel, baby, are you okay?" Eva's soft coo of concern already alleviated some of the tension from his shoulders.

"Yea, Mom." Sam's voice cracked, betraying him. "No. I broke up with Pe-" He sniffled.

"Oh baby, what happened? We we skyped last week you were so happy!"

"He-" Even if she knew his own hero ID, could he really out Peter to her? It didn't feel right. "He lied. About something big. By omission."

"Everyone has secrets. Small, big. Good, bad."

"This one was bad."

"You have your own secrets, or does Peter know about your helmet?"

"He doesn't… But I don't think there is anyway I could trust him. Mom, he's," enough being vague, "one of the heros who hates me."

"Oh dear. Well," She tsked into the receiver. "What do you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to try to make things with Peter work? Or do you want to keep walking away?"

"I-" Sam shut his eyes tightly. What did he want? It had been so clear that morning: he wanted to be with Peter forever. But, it was also clear when he found Peter's suit: he couldn't be with Peter.

"Oh, baby. It's okay not to know right now. But, you should figure it out soon. And I'll be here to support you either way."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime, dear. Love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

Sam stared at the message and voicemail icons on his phone for a while before turning his phone off and burying his head in his pillow. He would go through them tomorrow. Tomorrow was another day.

* * *

Arizona was warm and sunny, the perfect contrast to his mood. Flying had given him plenty of time to think, but he only went in circles. The only decision he made in the last 12 hours was that Johnny Storm was a great host, and he could make a mean crepe breakfast.

"Sam, more tea?" His mom was well used to his impromptu visits. It hadn't phased her at all when he showed up just before noon, asking for lunch. If anything, she probably had been expecting him after their phone call the previous night.

"Sure, thanks." His mom's cooking always cheered him up. Well, almost always.

"Have you talked to Peter?" She had danced around it for the last hour, but she had that gleam the whole time. Sam worried she just might call Peter herself and tell him off. _Mothers_.

"No. I haven't listened to his voicemails either." Peter had called again that morning. And again while they ate lunch. Sam hung his head. How long would he have this ache in his heart?

"Mom," Sam joined her at the sink, wordlessly taking a plate and drying it. "I have to face him to get my stuff. Unless I wait until he's in class, but…" He sighed. "What would you do?"

Eva hummed. "Well, your _father_ would piss me off- always running out with his helmet without so much as a kiss goodbye." She handed him another dish. "I couldn't take it anymore, so one day, it was shortly after I found out I was pregnant with you, I told him I was done."

Sam blinked. "You left him?"

"Almost. I left the house. He was off on whatever adventure, and didn't come home for about two weeks. He was scared shitless when I wasn't there." She smiled fondly at the memory. "Eventually, he found me. Mostly because I stopped hiding. But, we talked it out. All I wanted was for him to be more open, and I didn't expect him to be able to do that. If the Guardians called, he would go. But, he agreed. More than I expected."

"He quit."

"Yes. I didn't want him to give up the helmet, but it was a win. I regretted it later, when I saw what it did to him. The helmet was a part of him, same as it is a part of you."

"Nice story, but I don't see how it helps me."

"I talked to your father. But not until I was ready to." She turned to Sam. "Peter seems like such a nice guy, he made you happy. It has been so long since I had seen you light up like that about a boyfriend.b

"So… talk to him, but not before I'm ready?"

"And before it is too late."

Sam sighed. Typical cryptic mother bs. "Right." He sighed again.

"You have class tomorrow. And I need to get to work." Eva kissed his cheek then folded her arms. "Come visit me again next weekend?"

"You're kicking me out?" Sam rolled his eyes. His schooling would always be on the top of his mom's list. He eventually let her nudge him out the door, but not before scoring some dessert.

He didn't head straight home. As he flew over Carefree, he spotted the skate park. Ah, nostalgia. No one was around, so he dipped down to the park. His first class wasn't until 10am the next morning, he had plenty of time to dally.

Sam found a patch of shade outside and sat in the soft grass. Peter would love it here. He'd briefly mentioned about them visiting over the summer, but they hadn't made any solid plans. It was quiet in Carefree, it would be a nice getaway for Peter. And Spider-Man.

He dropped his head to his knees. Now that the adrenaline from finding Peter's suit was worn off, all that was left was the empty twisting coursing through his veins. Peter's face, twisted in confused agony, was there whenever he closed his eyes. And in the silence between bird songs, Sam could hear Spider-Man's taunts.

Enough waiting, he couldn't put if off any longer. Sam pulled his phone from his pocket, steeling his nerves. He selected MJ's voicemail first, putting his phone to his ear.

~ "Okay, enough. Sam, pick up your phone. Peter is a mess, okay? A mess. Are you happy? Stop being a jerk and come talk to him. If you can't handle his _extracurriculars_ FINE- but running off without much explanation? Suck it up and sit down, hear him out, and talk it out like an adult."~

Sam pulled the phone away from his ear and blinked. The knot in his stomach gave a painful twist as he selected the slew of Peter's voicemails.

~"Sam! Come back, can we talk about this. I love you, please call me."

~"Please call me back."

~"Sam." There was a pause. "I love you, so much," Peter's voice sounded wet and raw. "I don't want to lose you because of-" he paused "- please - I need you."

~"Where are you staying tonight? Sam, please come home. Call me back…. Something."

The next few were just a few seconds of Peter sniffling before hanging up. He skipped to the most recent one.

Peter sounded tired. "If you don't want to see me, just… just text me when you want to get your stuff. I'll- - I'll make sure I'm not - not there. I love you, please-" There was a shuffle behind him and MJ's voice came on. "Peter, give me the phone. Give it-"

She must have grappled it from him because the voicemail ended there.

Sam sat his phone to the side and stared up at the bright sky. The knot in his stomach pulled again, tightening. His eyes stung, fresh tears threatening to spill. Peter sounded… sounded… fuck, how could he put someone he loved through so much pain?

* * *

Ah, New York City. Good to see there hadn't been a major attack in the last twelve or so hours since he left. Sam landed on a building near midtown. It seemed like a good enough place to think.

Though, if he hadn't figured out what to do on the flight there… what would an hour or so of sulking do? Did he just go home and wait? Should he call Peter? If so, would it be to talk or to ask him to be gone while he got his stuff?

Was he really ready for it to be over? No. If he had figured out anything, it was that he didn't _want_ it to end. And neither did Peter. But, wouldn't Peter want to once he learned the truth?

"Urgh." He kicked at an abandoned pigeon nest.

"Hey Sparky." Spider-Man slinged himself gracefully from the building next to his, landing only a few feet away.

Peter. Peter could move like that, all grace and muscle. Sam let his eyes travel over Peter. How had he never noticed the delicious contours of Spider-Man's body before?

 _Ah_ , _shit_.

But, he wasn't in the mood. For either of them. "Go away, stop bugging me."

"I will, promise." Spider-Man help his his hands, "I- I need a favor."

Sam frowned. What was his game? Up his Nova torture to make himself feel better? So, what, he was going to ask Nova to jump off a building or something? His fists tightened at his sides.

"I'm not doing _you_ any favors."

Pet- _Spider_ - _Man's_ shoulders dropped. "I know, you have no reason to help me. But I think you may be the only one who can…"

Sam watched silently as Peter started pacing, trying to keep his own breathing under control.

"Johnny said your space thinger can locate people, like a scanner?"

What was Johnny up to? Sam slowly nodded.

"Okay, so, help? Please. He…" Peter paused, composing himself. "I trust Johnny, and he trusts you, and said I could trust you. And I'm desperate enough to do that- to trust someone who could very well use this against me."

Sam bit his lip as Peter reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a photo.

"This… my secret ID is the - _was_ the- most important thing to me. But," he gazed down at the picture, "Sam is the most important now."

Peter held the picture out. Sam floated over, gently taking it from Peter. It was the two of them at the school library. Wow, that had only been two weeks into them dating and they were both cramming for midterms. Wow, they looked so happy.

"Thats me, on the left." Spider-Man crouched against the wall. "Sam is on the right. And I can't find him, no one can."

Peter… had been looking for him? "The police are always a good option."

"He hasn't been gone long enough for them to help."

"Soooo, why ask me?" Sam stared at the picture.

"Please help, do your scanner thing."

Sam looked up, "Why is he missing?" He had to know what Peter thought. What he was telling people.

"He…" Peter's voice cracked. And even if Sam didn't know who was under that mask, his heart would have still lurched. "He found out. About my hero life. Broke up with me."

Sam stared. Had Johnny spilled the beans? He must have- why else would Spider-Man be telling _Nova_ this?

"Nova. Seriously, I'll get on my knees and beg. I just need to know if he's okay. He doesn't have family in the city, and I know he's too broke to get a hotel room, and none of his friends have seen him…"

"Wow," Sam breathed out. He quickly shook himself, this was _Spider_ - _man_ , he needed to snark at him. "Desperate much?" It came out flatter than he hoped.

"Yes, I am. Name your price."

Okay. Wow. How would he have reacted before knowing his greatest enemy was Peter? Should he pretend, fall back into their familiar dance?

But, it was Peter asking him. Asking him to find _himself_. But still. Okay.

Okay. This was happening. Real time. No time to think up scenarios.

"I'm not above begging." Peter's voice cracked behind his mask.

"Sooo, if I asked you to never talk to me again?"

"I- yes."

Huh. Sam floated closer. "You would give up tormenting me? Just to find someone who dumped you?"

Spider-man tensed. "Look, I'm sorry. About all of that. _Please_ , don't take your hate for me out on innocent civilian."

"Fine. Then, in exchange for helping you," Sam took a deep breath. "Tell me why you hate me."

Spider-Man looked away. "I- I don't _hate_ you."

"No one else here, Spidey. Just you and me, you don't have to lie."

"I…" He looked away. It was such a _Peter_ thing to do. "I didn't. I don't. I just…" He ran a hand over his face.

"So," Peter began pacing again as he talked. "It just, this just, I'm sorry. You just- the first time you came to the city you wrecked the place. And I yelled at you. And for the first time, like ever, I wasn't the fuck up. And when I chastised you, the other heroes started to respect me. Then you kept blundering up stuff, and you made it so _easy_."

He turned to Sam. "Nova, full disclosure: I don't hate you. You're annoying and fun to mess with…"

Sam stared at him. "Lame lie, bug." Did he seriously expect Nova to buy that? He started floating away, contemplating flying away.

"It's not… I'm sorry. I don't know how to prove that to you. I was always the menace, and then you came along... After everything you've been doing lately, I can't pretend you're still the bumbling space cop trying to figure out the big city."

"You… made me feel like shit…" Sam floated forward again, getting right in his face. "Instead of helping me, you threw me to the wolves, made me out to be the laughing stock- just so you could feel better about yourself?"

Spider-man shrunk back. "I'm sorry," he whispered.  
Sam floated back, thinking hard. "You're sorry? Sorry…"

"How can I prove it to you?"

Sam sighed. "We… will figure it out later." He floated up.

"Is that a no to helping me?"

Sam glanced at the photo he was still holding. "I'll...I'll search."

"Thank you. If you find him…?"

Sam frowned, thinking hard.

"Nova, I love him. Please, just let me know if he's safe. Even if he doesn't want anything to do with me- I need to know he's safe…"

Sam watched as Peter folded in on himself. "I'll call Johnny if I find anything." He flew off before the urge to hold Peter became stronger.

He flew for a few blocks before pulling out his phone, decision made. It rang a few times before Johnny picked up. "Hey, Johnny. I need a favor…"

* * *

Sam hovered outside his apartment, waiting. All of his nervous energy wanted an outlet, and it took great effort to keep his glow to a minimum. Johnny's text came through a few minutes ago, and Peter would be home anytime. His heart pounded in his chest as he went over every possible scenario. It was too late to change his mind, too late to undo what he set in motion.

From his vantage point outside, he watched Peter slowly open their bedroom door, "Sam?"

He stopped mid stride, taking in the room. Covering his bed was a comforter with the Nova symbol. Sam held his breath as Peter looked around the room. Nova pillowcase, Nova curtains, Nova _lamp_ , Nova boxers. Johnny had really gone overboard.

"What…? That jerk!" Peter kicked his bed and stalked over to Sam's, curling up on it.

Okay. Sam took a deep breath and opened the window, floating in. Peter's watery eyes snapped up to him.

"Where is he?" Peter didn't get up.

Sam left the window open, ready for a quick escape if he needed. He floated to the middle of the room, keeping his eyes on Peter.

"Did he leave? Grab his stuff and go? He's okay, right?" Peter sat up, landing forward.

Sam reached up to his helmet, slowly pulling it off. He held his breath as the suit dematerialized. He tried to smirk at Peter, but his throat constricted, making it more of a grimace. "I'm here- and I'll leave if y-you want."

Peter wiped at his face, blinking between Sam and the helmet. Sam held his breath.

"S-s-s" He scrambled up, crossing to Sam.

Sam let Peter pull him close, let himself fold against the familiar warmth. "Peter…"

"I'm so," Peter shook against him, "so sorry. Sam."

Sam gently guided Peter to his bed as collapsed against him. He sat his helmet to the side of Peter's bed as his own tears fell against Peter's shoulder.

"D-don't leave like that again." Peter's grip tightened. "I'm so sorry."

Sam sighed, "Peter."

"I was worried sick. Where were you?" He pulled away, using his thumb to dry Sam's cheek.

"I- I spent the night with Johnny."

Peter tensed. "You-"

"Didn't sleep with him." Sam leaned forward, resting his forehead against Peter's. "He just gave me some advice and a guest room."

Peter looked to where Sam's helmet sat. "He knew…."

"Peter. _Spider_ - _Man_." Sam pulled away, time to talk about the elephant in the room.

"Sam." Peter blinked at him, " _Nova_." He brushed at Sam's hair. "D-do you really hate me? Because I deserve it. And- fuck." Peter hid his face in his hands, shaking as he held back a sob.

"I-" Sam swallowed and put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Yea, I kinda do. But, I also love you."

"How could you ever forgive me? All those things I said? How can I forgive myself."

Sam wrapped himself around Peter, breathing him in. "I can forgive you because I love you. And Spider-Man _did_ apologize to Nova, so I think we can call the healing process officially started."

"I love you." Peter nuzzled against Sam's neck. "Did Johnny make a pass at you? I swear to-"

"No," Sam chuckled.

"Does this mean you'll say yes if I ask you out?"

Sam pulled away, "Dinner tomorrow?"

Peter hummed, his hands sliding lower, "I was thinking breakfast."

Sam leaned in, "We never did get that ice cream."

He wasn't sure who closed the distance between them, but it didn't really matter. Peter's lips against his were sweet, with a dash of salt from their mixed tears.

"Hey," Sam whispered against Peter's lips. "Put on your costume and meet me at the Statue of Liberty."

"Wha-"

Sam cut him off with another kiss, letting this one grow more heated. He pulled back, "Okay-" He kissed Peter- "Suit up, meet me in the shower?"

Peter growled, " _Sam_."

Sam reached to the side, blindly grabbing his helmet. "Nova." Sam lifted his helmet, but Peter grabbed his wrist before he could lower it over his head.

"Sam, please. Just lay with me?" Peter ran a hand down his side.

Sam dropped his helmet back to the floor. "Yea. Anything, Peter." He laid down, snuggling against Peter's chest.

"Thanks." Peter wrapped him in his arms. "I want to hold you."

Peter yawned, "Hey, can I add some of my Spidey stuff to the decor?"

Sam giggled into his shoulder, relieved he wasn't angry about the Nova decorations. He sighed contently. "I'm sorry for running out. I should have-"

"Shhh." Peter's grip tightened. "You came back."

Sam's eyes stung, "I almost didn't. Peter...I-"

"Hey, hey," Peter rubbed his back. "I'm sorry."

Sam yawned, physically and emotionally drained. "Tomorrow we should talk. And have that yummy make up sex."

Peter nodded into his hair. "I guess I don't have to hide my strength anymore…"

Sam moaned at the thought. It would sure make shower sex much easier. But, that was just gravy.

Sam had Peter. A friend, a boyfriend. The love of his life.

Nova had Spider-Man. A fellow hero, a strong ally. Possibly the best team up in the history of team ups.

Nothing could tear them apart.

* * *

 **Thank you for sticking it out to the end.**


End file.
